Dharmasena Pathiraja
Encyclopedia
Dharmasena Pathiraja is a Sri Lanka
n film director
and
screenwriter
.
,Pathiraja graduated from the University of Peradeniya
with an honours degree in Sinhala and Western Classical Culture in 1967. Subsequently he began work as a lecturer in Drama and Performance Arts. and later obtained a PhD in Bengali cinema from Monash University
.His Thesis is The Dialectic of Region and Nation in the Films of Bengali Independents: Ghatak, Ray and Sen(2001)
.He learnt the language of cinema from the film society movement which was very popular in Sri Lanka in early sixties. He also recognized their socio-political limitations in a country which was heading for a period of deep turmoil. He also studied the cinema of radical activists like Jean-Luc Godard
, Third Cinema filmmakers like Fernando Solanas
and Glauber Rocha, and Asians like Mrinal Sen
, Satyajit Ray
and Ritwik Ghatak.
1975's Eya Dan Loku Lamayek was Sri Lanka's entry at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival
, winning a Special Diploma for Female Performance in 1976 and the Special award from the peace council of the USSR to be screened at the 18th Venice Film Festival
in Bergamo, Italy in 1975.
1978's Bambaru Avith
is widely considered Pathiraja's masterpiece. That year it represented Sri Lanka at the 9th Moscow International Film Festival and was screened at the Venice and Los Angeles Film Festival
s. In Sri Lanka it was awarded Best Director and Best Film honors at the first Presidential Film Awards
and the OCIC Awards. In 1997 a special council selected to celebrate 50 years of Sri Lankan Cinema named it the fourth best Sri Lankan film of all-time.
.
1981's Soldadu Unnahe would be Pathiraja's last film for 13 years. It was Sri Lanka's entry to the 8th International Film Festival of India and was awarded Best Film, Best Director and best Script at the third Presidential Film Awards and Best Director and Best Film at the OCIC Awards. OCIC named it the best Sri Lankan film of the 1980 –1990 period in 1990.
and the 4th Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema
, New Delhi
.
Shorts and Documentaries
Television dramas(series)
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
n film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and
screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
.
Early life
Educated at Dharmaraja College, KandyDharmaraja College, Kandy
Dharmaraja College , founded in 1887 is a premier Boys' School in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is a Buddhist school with around 175 teaching staff and around 4,500 students. The school has many renowned figures in its alumni including William Gopallawa, A. E...
,Pathiraja graduated from the University of Peradeniya
University of Peradeniya
The University of Peradeniya is a world renowned state university in Sri Lanka, funded by the University Grants Commission...
with an honours degree in Sinhala and Western Classical Culture in 1967. Subsequently he began work as a lecturer in Drama and Performance Arts. and later obtained a PhD in Bengali cinema from Monash University
Monash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
.His Thesis is The Dialectic of Region and Nation in the Films of Bengali Independents: Ghatak, Ray and Sen(2001)
.He learnt the language of cinema from the film society movement which was very popular in Sri Lanka in early sixties. He also recognized their socio-political limitations in a country which was heading for a period of deep turmoil. He also studied the cinema of radical activists like Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, Third Cinema filmmakers like Fernando Solanas
Fernando Solanas
Fernando Ezequiel 'Pino' Solanas is an Argentine film director, screenwriter and politician....
and Glauber Rocha, and Asians like Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen
Mrinal Sen is a Bengali Indian filmmaker. He was born on 14 May 1923, in the town of Faridpur, now in Bangladesh in a Hindu family. After finishing his high school there, he left home to come to Calcutta as a student and studied physics at the well-known Scottish Church College and at the...
, Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
and Ritwik Ghatak.
First wave of success (1970–1977)
Pathiraja made a short 10 minute film titled Saturo in 1970. His full-length feature film Ahas Gauwa followed four years later. Dealing with the urban lower class, the film was atypical of most commercial films of that period. It was critically well-received, sweeping the FCJAC Awards landing Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor and winning the Office Catholique Internationale Du Cinema (Sri Lanka) awards for Best Film and Best Director.1975's Eya Dan Loku Lamayek was Sri Lanka's entry at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival
Moscow International Film Festival
Moscow International Film Festival , is the film festival first held in Moscow in 1959. From its inception to 1995 it was held every second year in July, alternating with the Karlovy Vary festival. The festival has been held annually since 1995....
, winning a Special Diploma for Female Performance in 1976 and the Special award from the peace council of the USSR to be screened at the 18th Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
in Bergamo, Italy in 1975.
1978's Bambaru Avith
Bambaru Avith
Bambaru Avith is a 1978 dramatic film made by Sri Lankan director Dharmasena Pathiraja. It explores tradition and exploitation following the introduction of capitalism to a tiny fishing village and the subsequent clash between the local boss and the urban outsider.-Plot:The film is set in a...
is widely considered Pathiraja's masterpiece. That year it represented Sri Lanka at the 9th Moscow International Film Festival and was screened at the Venice and Los Angeles Film Festival
Los Angeles Film Festival
The Los Angeles Film Festival, presented by the Los Angeles Times is an event held annually in June in downtown Los Angeles, California. The Los Angeles Film Festival began as the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival in 1995. The first LAIFF took place over the course of five days in a single...
s. In Sri Lanka it was awarded Best Director and Best Film honors at the first Presidential Film Awards
Presidential Film Awards
Presidential Film Awards is a film award ceremony held in Sri Lanka. It is organized by the National Film Corporation along with the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.-Best Playback Singer :...
and the OCIC Awards. In 1997 a special council selected to celebrate 50 years of Sri Lankan Cinema named it the fourth best Sri Lankan film of all-time.
Middle period (1977–1981)
Later that year, Pathiraja made the Tamil film Ponmani shown at the International Film Festival in India. 1980 saw the filming of Para Dige which was shown some time later at UCLA in the Third World Cinema Program and in France and MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
1981's Soldadu Unnahe would be Pathiraja's last film for 13 years. It was Sri Lanka's entry to the 8th International Film Festival of India and was awarded Best Film, Best Director and best Script at the third Presidential Film Awards and Best Director and Best Film at the OCIC Awards. OCIC named it the best Sri Lankan film of the 1980 –1990 period in 1990.
Return to film (1994–2002)
1994's Wasuli was a relatively minor film. In 2001 Pathrija returned on a bigger scale with Mathu Yam Dawasa shown at the Singapore International Film FestivalSingapore International Film Festival
The Singapore International Film Festival was launched in 1987. The festival is an annual film event, held around April/May each year, and screens about 300 films from over 45 countries...
and the 4th Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema
Osian's Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema
Osian's-Cinefan, the largest film-festival devoted to Asian and Arab cinema, is part of Osian's Film House Division. The festival celebrated its 10th anniversary in July 2008.-History:...
, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
.
Theatergraphy
- 1971 Kora saha Andaya (The Lame and the Blind) script Produced by Dhamma JagodaDhamma JagodaDhamma Jagoda was the first Head of the Drama Unit at the National Television channel Rupavahini Corporation in Sri Lanka. He was a pioneer theater and television play director and actor In Sri Lanka...
- Putu ( The Chairs of Eugène IonescoEugène IonescoEugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
) Translator and Producer
Filmography
Features- 1974 One League Of Sky (Ahas Gawwa) [B&W]
- 1977 Coming Of Age (Eya Den Loku Lamayek) [B&W]
- 1978 Ponmani [B&W]
- 1978 The Wasps Are Here (Bambaru Avith) [B&W]
- 1980 On The Run (Paradige) [B&W]
- 1981 Old Soldier (Soldadu Unnehe) [B&W]
- 1994 Whirl Wind (Vasuli) [Colour]
- 2001 Some Day In The Future (Mathu Yam Davasa) [Colour]
Shorts and Documentaries
- 1969 Enemies (Sathuro) [B&W]
- 1972 Anduren Eliyata-From Darkness to Light,A 40 mts documentary on Land Reforms, produced for the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reforms. 1972 (35mm -Black and White)
- 1974 The Coast (Werala) A 30 mts documentary on coast conservation for the Ministry of Fisheries, 1974. ( 35 mm Colour)
- 1983 Shelton Haa Kanthi
- 1984 Putting The Last First-A documentary on local level community based projects for NORAD (35 mm Colour)
- 1988 Shelter For Million Families -A 15 mts documentary produced to commemorate the International Year of Shelter for the Homeless, Screened at ST. Anne's Theatre, London on the occasion of the ceremonial award presentation for the best housing program of the year won by Sri Lanka. 1988. (35mm Colour)
- 2006 In Search of a Road[Colour]
Television dramas(series)
- 1985 Gangulen Egodata-Crossing the Stream
- 1986 Maaya Mandira -Mansion of Maya. 1986 ,27mts.Tele feature For National TV.
- 1988 Ella langa Walawwa -The House By the Waterfall. 1988,14 (27mts) episodes, Tele Drama for the National TV
- 1989 Wanni Hamilage Kathawa -Story Of Wannihamy,4 (27mts) episodes, Tele docu drama
- 1989 Sudubandelage Kathawa-Story of Sudu Banda,2 (30mts) episodes Tele docu-drama
- 1989 Pura Sakmana-2 (45mts) episodes Tele Drama, An adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Lady with the Dog for National TV
- 1992 Kadulla-The Hurdle-21 (26 mts) episodes, Tele Drama, Won 9 UNDA international awards (Sri Lanka Office) Including Best TV Feature, Best Director, Best Script, Best Male and Female Performances, of the year 1992
- 1993 Suba Anagathyak-16 (26mts) episodes, Tele Drama, An Adaptation of Charles Dicken's Great Expectations for National TV
- 1994 Nadunana Puttu-Unknown Sons,21 (26mts) episodes, Tele Drama, for ITN
- 1996 Durganthaya-34 (26mts) episodes, Tele Drama, An adaptation of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights
- 2009 Kampithavil