Visakesa Chandrasekaram

Last updated

Visakesa Chandrasekaram is a Sri Lankan film director, community law practitioner, human rights lawyer, activist, writer, novelist, dramatist, songwriter, artist, stage performer and academic. [1] He won the Gratiaen Prize for his play titled Forbidden Area (1999). He was well known for his cinematic storytelling through portraying experiences faced by victims and marginalized communities. [2]

Contents

Career

His debut play Forbidden Area along with Neil Fernandopulle's short story collection Shrapnel were adjudged as the joint winners of the Gratiaen Prize in 1999. [3] The dubbed Sinhalese version of his play Forbidden Area, Thahanam Adaviya fetched him National Literary Award in 2000. [1] He also learnt Bharatanatyam and developed a passionate interest in the arts through a thorough self study and research. [4] He performed his second play Devadasi at the Lumbini Theatre in November 2000. [4] He published his first novel, Tigers Don't Confess in 2011 which elaborated about prosecution of Tamil Tiger suspects speculated to be the representatives of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. [5] [3] His second novel, The King and the Assassin, which was published in 2015, fetched him National Fairway Award in the same year. [6] [7]

He served as a community law practitioner in both Sri Lanka and Australia. He was also appointed as the deputy director at the National Association of Community Legal Centers. He received his honorary doctorate from the Australian National University, in recognition of his research work regarding the use of confessionary evidence under the counter-terrorism rules prevailing in Sri Lanka. [8] He also had a stint working in a crucial role in the New South Wales public service which also included Attorney General's Department as well as the Police Force. [8] He also serves as senior lecturer at the University of Colombo in the Faculty of Law. [9] He has also written journal articles for Groundviews often highlighting about most pressing social issues. [10]

He became a talking point with his feature film directorial debut with Frangipani (2016) which broke stereotypes by becoming the first Sri Lankan film to talk about the LGBT community and the LGBT rights. [11] Frangipani did not have a high-profile release in Sri Lanka due to the subject matter regarding homosexuality which is considered illegal and taboo in Sri Lanka. [12] He revealed that his debut directorial film on such subject matter is typical in many ways of the experience of LGBT in Sri Lanka as well as typical of the personal experiences that he himself faced. [13] The film won the best script award during the 19th Presidential Awards.

His second directorial feature film Paangshu (2018) was screened at the 2018 Montreal World Film Festival and was also premiered in 14 other international film festivals. [14] Paangshu revolves around the story of a laundrywoman whose emotional element in the role of a mother is revealed as she pleads desperately with the relevant authorities to release her son, who was abducted and detained by a group of paramilitary men during the 1987–1989 JVP insurrection in Sri Lanka. [1] [15]

His next feature film Munnel (2023) was critically acclaimed for its screenplay and it also fetched him a Special Jury Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. [16] [17] [18] Munnel revolves around a former rebel who was accused of having close links with the LTTE members and eventually returns home after being released on bail from the military detention. [19] He goes in search of his missing girlfriend and the fate of the rebel was yet to be revealed by his soothsaying mother. [20] The film was selected officially for eight international film festivals and opened to positive reviews from critics.

Filmography

YearFilmLanguageNotes
2016 Frangipani Sinhala debut film
2018 Paangshu Sinhala
2023 Munnel Tamil

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Film Festival Rotterdam</span> Annual film festival held in the Netherlands

International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) is an annual film festival held at the end of January in various locations in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, focused on independent and experimental films. The inaugural festival took place in June 1972, led by founder Huub Bals. IFFR also hosts CineMart and BoostNL, for film producers to seek funding.

The Gratiaen Prize is an annual literary prize for the best work of literary writing in English by a resident of Sri Lanka. It was founded in 1992 by the Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje with the money he received as joint-winner of the Booker Prize for his novel The English Patient. The prize is named after Ondaatje's mother, Doris Gratiaen.

<i>Flying Fish</i> (film) 2011 Sri Lankan film

Flying Fish is a 2011 anthology film directed by Sri Lankan filmmaker Sanjeewa Pushpakumara. It was produced with the financial support of the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The film made its world premiere on 28 January 2011, as part of the Rotterdam festival's Tiger Awards Competition. The film has been noted for its political value, beautiful cinematography, long takes, and shocking violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sanjeewa Pushpakumara</span> Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter and producer

Sanjeewa Pushpakumara is a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter and producer.

Hemal Sachindra Ranasinghe as Sinhala: හේමාල් සචින්ද්‍ර රණසිංහ) is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema and television. He earned the critics' award for 'Best Actor' and 'Most Popular Actor' at the Derana Film Awards in both 2016 and 2018 becoming one of Sri Lanka's most popular actors of modern cinema. Ranasinghe started his career as a model, appearing in several advertising commercials. He made his cinema debut in 2012 appearing in Super Six. In 2016 he won Most Popular Actor, and Best Promising Actor at the Hiru Golden Film Award.

Dasun Pathirana [Sinhala]), is a model and actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television. He won an award at Indie Fest 2014 as best actor in a leading role. He received his first Sarasaviya award in 2018.

<i>Frangipani</i> (film) 2016 Sri Lankan film

Frangipani (Sayapethi Kusuma) (Sinhala: සය පෙති කුසුම) is a 2016 Sri Lankan Sinhala romantic drama film directed and co-produced by Sunil T. Fernando for Sunil T Films and Visakesa Chandrasekaram for Havelock Arts. It stars Dasun Pathirana, Jehan Sri Kanth and Yasodha Rasanduni in lead roles. Music composed by Shantha Pieris. It is the 1260th Sri Lankan film in the Sinhala cinema.

Prasanna Jayakody is a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter, internationally recognized for his cinematic accomplishments in contemporary Sri Lankan cinema. His movies primarily explore the human state of mind, displaying fusions of human emotions, senses and thoughts set against the fractured socio-economic, cultural and religious environments of Sri Lanka. In the global context, Jayakody’s cinema represents the psycho-biological realities of mankind and arbitrariness of human cognition juxtaposed against the larger concept of civilization. Jayakody’s eccentric cinematic world, in the absence of a flowing story, capitalizes on subtle but detailed images and intense characters.

<i>Demons in Paradise</i> 2017 film

Demons in Paradise is a 2017 trilingual Sri Lankan based documentary feature film written by Isabelle Marina and directed by Jude Ratnam in his directorial debut depicting the worst consequences for both Sinhalese and Tamils due to the 30 year long endured Sri Lankan Civil War. The portions of the film were mostly shot in Sri Lanka and was set in France. The film had its world premiere during the 2017 Cannes Film Festival in May 2017 and was opened to highly positive reviews making it as an internationally acclaimed and recognised film. Jude Ratnam became the first Tamil filmmaker to openly criticise the Tamil Tigers through the plot of the documentary film and the film received criticism among Sri Lankan Jaffna Tamils for the storyline.

<i>Paangshu</i> 2018 Sri Lankan film

Paangshu is a 2018 Sri Lankan Sinhalese drama film directed by Visakesa Chandrasekaram and co-produced by Havelock Arts studios and TVT. It stars Nita Fernando and Nadee Kammellaweera in lead roles along with Jagath Manuwarna and Nilmini Buwaneka in supportive roles. Music composed by Chinthaka Jayakody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rajee Samarasinghe</span> Director and filmmaker

Rajee Samarasinghe is a Sri Lankan filmmaker and visual artist. His work explores a wide array of topics including the Sri Lankan Civil War, his family, and the deconstruction of documentary and narrative film.

The H.A.I. Goonetileke Prize for Literary Translation is a bi-annual literary prize in Sri Lanka. It is awarded by the Gratiaen Trust, which also awards the Gratiaen Prize, for the translation of Sinhala or Tamil language creative writing into English. It was established in 2003.

Sunil Ernest Wijesiriwardena is a Sri Lankan literary critic, academic, researcher, civil activist, university lecturer, poet, writer, author, playwright, civic leader and translator. He initiated the 2015 civic movement to generate a positive discourse on cultural rights and to draft a National Cultural Policy for Sri Lanka.

<i>Munnel</i> (film) 2022 film directed by Visakesa Chandrasekaram

Munnel (transl. Sand/Soil) is a 2023 Sri Lankan Tamil language drama film written, directed and produced by Visakesa Chandrasekaram. The film was screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and opened to positive reviews from critics. The film had its theatrical release in Sri Lanka on 3 November 2023. This is also regarded as potentially the first Sri Lankan fully fledged home-grown local Tamil film in the history of Sri Lankan cinema, as most of the crew members who were on board had been native Sri Lankans.

<i>Whispering Mountains</i> 2023 Sri Lankan drama film

Whispering Mountains also known as Rahas kiyana kandu is a 2023 Sri Lankan Sinhala-language drama film co-written and directed by Jagath Manuwarna. It is his feature film directorial debut. The film won the NETPAC Award for the best Asian feature film at the 52nd International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film premiered in the Bright Future programme of the 2023 International Film Festival Rotterdam.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashok Ferrey</span> Sri Lankan writer

Ashok Ferrey is a Sri Lankan writer of literary fiction.

Elmo Jayawardena is a Sri Lankan pilot, philanthropist, writer, novelist, storyteller and author. He is the founder and President of AFLAC International, a humanitarian organization that actively works towards alleviating poverty. He won the Gratiaen Prize for his novel Sam's Story (2001).

Ruwanthie de Chickera also spelt as Ruwanthi de Chickera is a Sri Lankan playwright, dramatist, screenwriter, activist, writer and theatre director. She has engaged in research on various fields including politics, sexuality, education, religion, arts, violence and culture. She jointly won the Gratiaen Prize along with Lakshmi de Silva in 2000.

Manel Eriyagama is a Sri Lankan academic, translator and author. In 2023, she won the H. A. I. Goonetileke Prize for her translation work titled Jewels, which is a compilation of 14 Sinhala short stories by contemporary writers.

Ramya Chamalie Jirasinghe is a Sri Lankan novelist and poet. She was shortlisted as one of the finalists of the 31st Gratiaen Prize nominations for the year 2023 which she eventually won.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Weerasooriya, Sahan (2020-08-06). "'Paangshu' aims to initiate dialogue among oppressed victimized" . Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  2. ↑ "As a nation we have failed to Deliver Justice to the Disappeared: Visakesa Chandrasekaram". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  3. 1 2 "Visakesa Chandrasekaram, 'Paangshu' and the Prize (Price) of Memory - News Features | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  4. 1 2 "Tragic tale of dancing girls". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  5. ↑ Ransirini, Shamara (2015). "Becoming Militant: Narrative of (Dis?) embodiment in Visakesa Chandrasekaram's Tigers Don't Confess" (PDF). Outskirts. 33. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  6. ↑ "The Fairway National Literary Award 2015: Winners announced at a ceremony in January 2016". Adaderana Biz English | Sri Lanka Business News. 2016-01-19. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  7. ↑ "Galle Lit Fest marches back to Fort after four-year absence | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  8. 1 2 "Dr. Visakesa Chandrasekaram – Department of Public & International Law" . Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  9. ↑ "Visakesa Chandrasekaram | IFFR". iffr.com. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  10. ↑ Chandrasekaram, Visakesa (2021-12-11). "Visakesa Chandrasekaram". Groundviews. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  11. ↑ WIJEKOON, Channa Bandara. "They want a break". Daily News. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  12. ↑ "'Frangipani' at Engendering Yahapalanaya film festival". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  13. ↑ "Fridae | Frangipani | Interview with Sri Lankan director". www.fridae.asia. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  14. ↑ "What you have done to you and your 'ethnic' other". Sunday Observer. 2019-09-06. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  15. ↑ "Paangshu to hit the screen soon". Sunday Observer. 2020-07-31. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  16. ↑ "Visakesa's 'Munnel' wins jury award at 52nd IFFR". english.theleader.lk. 2023-02-06. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  17. ↑ Walpola, Thilina (2023-02-06). "Two Lankan films recognized at Rotterdam Intl Film Festival" . Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  18. ↑ "Jagath and Visakesa win awards at IFF Rotterdam". Print Edition - The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  19. ↑ damith (2023-10-28). "Think big, Act small". Sunday Observer. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  20. ↑ "Rebel who returns searching for the lost love". Print Edition - The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.