Udaya Prasanna Vithanage ( si, ප්රසන්න විතානගේ) (born 14 March 1962) is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He is considered one of the pioneers of the third generation of the Sri Lankan cinema. He has directed eight feature films including Death on a Full Moon Day (1997), August Sun (2003), Flowers of the Sky (2008) & With You, Without You (2012) and won many prestigious national and international awards and have also been commercially successful in Sri Lanka. In his early theatre work, he translated and produced plays by international writers, adapted works of world literature to film. He has battled against the censorship in Sri Lanka and worked as an educator of cinema who has conducted many Master classes in the subcontinent for young filmmakers and enthusiasts.
Life and career
1980s–1997
Prasanna Vithanage became involved in theatre after leaving school. He translated and directed
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...
's play, ''
Arms and the Man
''Arms and the Man'' is a comedy by George Bernard Shaw, whose title comes from the opening words of Virgil's ''Aeneid'', in Latin:
''Arma virumque cano'' ("Of arms and the man I sing").
The play was first produced on 21 April 1894 at the Aven ...
,'' in 1986. In 1991, he translated and directed a production of Italian
Dario Fo
Dario Luigi Angelo Fo (; 24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. I ...
's ''
Trumpets and Raspberries.''
In 1991, he directed his first film, ''
Sisila Gini Gani'' (Ice of Fire). It won nine
OCIC
SIGNIS (official name: World Catholic Association for Communication) is a Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement for professionals in the communication media, including press, radio, television, cinema, video, media education, internet, and ne ...
(Sri Lanka) awards, including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress.
In 1996 he released his second feature ''
Anantha Rathriya'' (Dark Night of the Soul) which he wrote and directed. It was based on
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
's last novel ''
Resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
''. It was shown at several international film festivals and won a Jury's Special Mention in the First
Pusan International Film Festival
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...
. The film won all the main awards at the 1996
Sri Lanka Film Critics' Forum Awards (affiliated with FIPRESCI), including awards for Most Outstanding Film, Best Director and Best Screenwriter.
In 1997 his third feature, ''
Purahanda Kaluwara
''Purahanda Kaluwara (Death on a Full Moon Day)'' ( si, පුරහඳ කළුවර, italic=yes) is a 2001 Sri Lankan Sinhala drama film directed and produced by Prasanna Vithanage. It stars Joe Abeywickrama and Priyanka Samaraweera in lead ...
'' (Death on a Full Moon Day), which he wrote and directed, was produced by
NHK
, also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee.
NHK operates two terrestr ...
(Japanese Broadcasting Corporation). It won the Grand Prix at the
Amiens Film Festival. Initially banned in Sri Lanka by the minister in charge of film industry, it was released after a year long legal battle. It was released by the ruling of the Supreme Court. It has become one of the most commercially successful films in Sri Lanka. ''
Pawuru Walalu'' (Walls Within) was also released that year. It won the Best Actress Award for
Nita Fernando
Nita Fernando (born 5 September 1947, නීටා ප්රනාන්දු) in Negombo, Sri Lanka is an actress in the Sri Lankan cinema. She has starred in films like '' Duhulu Malak'' and ''Pavuru Walalu''.
Biography Early life
Nita ...
in her role as Violet, at the 1998
Singapore International Film Festival
The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) ( Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform fo ...
. It won ten of eleven awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, at the
Sri Lanka Film Critics' Forum Awards.
1998–2012
In 2003 Vithanage completed ''Ira Madiyama'' (August Sun) as his fifth film. It won many international awards and was featured prominently in the world festival circuit.
In 2008, Vithanage co-produced the hit film ''
Machan'' a comedy about a group of working class con artists posing as a handball team, directed by
Uberto Pasolini
Uberto Pasolini Dall'Onda (born 1 May 1957 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian film producer, director, and former investment banker known for producing the 1997 film ''The Full Monty'' and directing and producing the 2008 film '' Machan'' and the 201 ...
, who produced ''
The Full Monty
''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is s ...
''. ''Machan'' premiered at the 65th
Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
in 2008. It won 11 international awards.
That year Vithanage's sixth feature film as director, "Akasa Kusum" (Flowers of the Sky) premiered at a festival in
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
. It was screened at more than 30 film festivals and won numerous international awards. A Tamil-dubbed version of Akasa Kusum titled ''Aagaya Pookkal'' was screened in
Jaffna
Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...
on 1 April 2011. It was the only movie premiere of a Sinhala film director to have been held in Jaffna during the past 30 years.
In 2012 his 7th feature film, ''
Oba Nathuwa Oba Ekka'' (With You, Without You), had its world premier in the "World Greats" section at the 39th Montreal International Film Festival. Written by Prasanna, Oba Nathuwa Oba Ekka is adapted from a novella by
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
(''A Gentle Creature,'' a.k.a. The Meek One) and set in post-war Sri Lanka. On the international festival run, by late 2013 the film had won 5 international awards, including "best picture" in France and Italy. It earned a nomination for best picture at the
2013 Asia Pacific Screen Awards in Australia.
2013–2017
On 30 March 2013, Vithanage founded the 'Prasanna Vithanage Academy of Acting' in Sri Lanka, for aspiring acting students.
2015 saw his first and only documentary feature Vithanage, titled "
Usaviya Nihandai" (Silence in the Courts), an investigative docudrama chronicling the events followed, after a Wife of a robbery suspect was being raped by the presiding magistrate of the case and an alternative newspaper editor exposing that case, engaging in a prolonged legal battle that extended into a probable impeachment of chief justice of the country, but eventually accused parties getting away scot-free while denying justice to the victim.
When asked "Why did you choose this story to explore social justice in Sri Lanka?, Prasanna Vithanage replied saying, "The fairness of carrying out social justice is best judged by how judicial branch will act when one of their members is accused. My goal was to go into depth and unearth the real story from the original sources and a re-enactment of those incidents in the form of a docudrama." After its world premiere at
Sakhalin International Film Festival in Russia in Fall 2015, Usaviya Nihandai had a successful theatrical run in Sri Lanka, despite being initially banned from public screening by the Colombo District Court of Sri Lanka. This marked the second instance where one of Prasanna Vithanage's movies was banned from public screening. In both cases Prasanna won the court ruling which overturned the initial ban of both movies, which ultimately resulted in successful theatrical runs in Sri Lanka.
2018
Prasanna Vithanage embarked on his dream project ‘Gaadi – Children of the Sun’. It premiered at the Busan International Film Festival, in October 2019 and had its European premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival, in January 2020.
Personal life
Born in
Panadura
Panadura ( si, පානදුර, translit=Pānadura; ta, பாணந்துறை, translit=Pāṇantuṟai) is a city in Kalutara District, Western Province in Sri Lanka. It is located approximately south of Colombo and is surrounded on ...
, Sri Lanka, a suburb outside
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
, Prasanna attended
D. S. Senanayake College
D. S. Senanayake College ( டி.எஸ் சேனாநாயக்க கல்லூரி ''D. S. Senanayaka Vidyalaya'', also referred to as DS and DSSC) is a Single-sex education, boys' Primary school, primary and Secondary school, sec ...
, in Colombo, a leading national school for his secondary education. In 1991 he married actress
Damayanthi Fonseka, a younger sister of
Malini Fonseka
Wanniarachchige Malini Senehelatha Fonseka, popularly as Malini Fonseka ( Sinhala:මාලිනී ෆොන්සේකා) (born 30 April 1947, in Kelaniya) is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television as well as a director. ...
, arguably the most popular actress of Sinhala Cinema.
Filmography
Theatre
Direction and translation
* ''Dwithwa'', from Dario Fo's ''Trumpets and Raspberries'' (1991)
* ''Horu Samaga Heluwen'', from Daro Fo's ''The Virtuous Burglar & One Was Nude and One Wore Tails'' (2006)
* ''Debiddo'' – new production of ''Dwithwa'' (2010)
Translation
* ''Puthra Samagama'', from
Alexender Vampilov's ''
The Elder Son'' (1985)
Awards
Sisila Gini Gani (Ice on Fire)
*9
OCIC
SIGNIS (official name: World Catholic Association for Communication) is a Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement for professionals in the communication media, including press, radio, television, cinema, video, media education, internet, and ne ...
Awards including Best Director
*7
Swarna Sanka Awards including Best Director
*2
Sarasavi Awards
Anantha Rathriya (Dark Night of the Soul)
*2
SIGNIS
SIGNIS (official name: World Catholic Association for Communication) is a Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement for professionals in the communication media, including press, radio, television, cinema, video, media education, internet, and new ...
film awards
*2
Sarasaviya
Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (ANCL), also known as Lake House. It publishes three daily, three weekend, five weekly, two monthly and three annual publications in Sinhala, English and Tamil.
Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited is ...
film awards
*8 Sri Lanka Film critics forum (affiliated to FIPRESCI) Awards including Best Director
*Honourable mention at the first
Pusan International Film Festival
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...
Pawuru Wallalu (Walls Within)
*9
OCIC
SIGNIS (official name: World Catholic Association for Communication) is a Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement for professionals in the communication media, including press, radio, television, cinema, video, media education, internet, and ne ...
awards
*6
Presidential Awards
*10 Sri Lanka film critics (affiliated to FIPRESCI) awards
*Best Actress (Singapore)
Prize of the city of Amiens
*
GPCI Award
*
NETPAC Award The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the inst ...
at Amiens Film Festival
Puruhanda Kaluwara (Death on a Full Moon Day)
*5
SIGNIS film awards including Best Director
*4
Sarasavi film awards including Best Picture
*
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
– Amiens
*
NETPAC Award The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) is a worldwide organization of 29 member countries. It was created as the result of a conference on Asian cinema organized by Cinemaya, the Asian Film Quarterly, in New Delhi in 1990 at the inst ...
– Amiens
*
International Critic's Award – Fribourg
*Best Actor – Singapore
Ira Madiyama (August Sun)
*Grand Prix (Special Mention) "Le Regard d'or" –
Fribourg International Film Festival
The Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) is an annual film festival in Fribourg, Switzerland. It is focused on selected films from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The Grand Prize is the main award of the Fribourg International Film Festival ...
2004
*
FIPRESCI-NETPAC Award – 17th
Singapore International Film Festival
The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) ( Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform fo ...
2004
*Best Film, Silver Award –
Las Palmas International Film Festival 2004
*Best Actress –
Las Palmas International Film Festival 2004
*Grand Jury Prize – 6th
Makati Cinemanila International Film Festival 2004
*10 Presidential Awards
*9 Sarasavi Film Awards
*9 Signis Film Awards
Akasa Kusum (Flowers of the Sky)
Awards
* 10 SIGNIS film awards (Sri Lanka) including Best Film.
* Silver Peacock Award (Best Actress –
Malini Fonseka
Wanniarachchige Malini Senehelatha Fonseka, popularly as Malini Fonseka ( Sinhala:මාලිනී ෆොන්සේකා) (born 30 April 1947, in Kelaniya) is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television as well as a director. ...
), Indian International Film Festival (IFFF), India
* Best Actress –
Malini Fonseka
Wanniarachchige Malini Senehelatha Fonseka, popularly as Malini Fonseka ( Sinhala:මාලිනී ෆොන්සේකා) (born 30 April 1947, in Kelaniya) is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television as well as a director. ...
, Levante International Film Festival, Italy
* Jury Special Mention Award, Vesoul Asian Film Festival, France
* Best Asian Film (NETPAC) Award – Granada Cinesdelsur Film Festival, Spain
* Best Film – SAARC Film Festival 2012
* Best Actress – Malini Fonseka – SAARC Film Festival 2012
Official Selections
*
Pusan International Film Festival
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festi ...
, Korea (World Premiere)
*
Brisbane International Film Festival
The Brisbane International Film Festival (BIFF) is an annual film festival held in Brisbane, Australia. Organised by the Screen Culture unit at Screen Queensland, the festival has taken place since 1992, with the program including features, doc ...
, Australia
– Nominee,
International Federation of Film Critics
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...
(FIPRESCI) Award
*
Asia Pacific Screen Awards
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) is an international cultural initiative overseen by the Asia Pacific Screen Academy and headquartered in Australia. In order to realise UNESCO's goals of promoting and preserving the different cultures th ...
, Australia
– Nominee, Best Actress
Malini Fonseka
Wanniarachchige Malini Senehelatha Fonseka, popularly as Malini Fonseka ( Sinhala:මාලිනී ෆොන්සේකා) (born 30 April 1947, in Kelaniya) is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television as well as a director. ...
* South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF), New York City
*
International Film Festival of Kerala
The International Film Festival of Kerala (abbreviated as IFFK) is a film festival held annually in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Kerala, India. This film festival started in 1996 and is hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy ...
, India
*
Palm Springs International Film Festival
Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 1989 ...
, USA
* Tiburon International Film Festival, USA
* Asiatica Filmmediale, Italy
*
Singapore International Film Festival
The Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) ( Chinese: 新加坡国际电影节) is the longest-running film festival in Singapore. Founded in 1987, the festival has a focus on showcasing international films and providing a global platform fo ...
, Singapore
* London Asian Film Festival, United Kingdom
* Fukuoka International Film Festival, Japan
* New Jersey Independent South Asian Cine Fest, US
Oba Nathuwa Oba Ekka (With You, Without You)
*Cyclo d'Or – Best Film,
Vesoul International Film Festival
*NETPAC,
Vesoul International Film Festival
*SIGNIS, Milano -African Asian Latin American Film Festival
*Silver Peacock Award (Best Actress – Anjali Patil),
Indian International Film Festival (IFFF), India
*Critics' Choice Award - Sakhalin International Film Festival, Russia
*
33rd Sarasaviya Awards Colombo Sri Lanka 2017
* Best Director
* Best Actress
* Best Screenplay
* Merit Award for acting - Maheswarie Ratnam
*
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. It was 1st awards in 1979 by President J. R. Jayew ...
Colombo Sri Lanka 2017
* Best Film
* Best Director
* Best Actor
* Best Actress
* Best Screenplay
* Best Editing
* Best Original Score
* Best Sound Design
Silence in the Courts (Usawiya Nihandai)
* Sakhalin International Film Festival (Russia) - World Premiere
* Special Jury Award - Sarasaviya Awards
* Special Jury Award -
Derana Film Awards
''Derana Film Awards'' (Sinhala:දෙරණ සිනමා සම්මාන) is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the Sri Lanka's silver screen, each year by the TV Derana, Sri Lanka in recognition of the contributi ...
* Special Jury Award - Hiru Gold Awards
Gaadi - Children of the Sun
* Special Jury Mention (Asian Film Competition Section) - 18th Dhaka International Film Festival 2020
* Emerald Dove Award - 3rd Independent Film Festival of Chennai 2020
*
14th Asia Pacific Screen Awards:
Cultural Diversity Award (UNESCO) (2021)
Theatre Awards
Puthra Samagama
*Best Translation - State Drama Festival 1985
*Best Translation - Divaina Sama Festival 1985
Avi
*Special Jury Award - Best Translation & Direction 1987
*Best Play (Cowinner) - Divaina Sama Festival 1987
Dwithva
* Best Translation, Best Director & Best Play - State Drama Festival 1992
Literary Awards
Puthra Samagama
* Best Translation for theatre - State Literary Festival 2011
Special Awards
* Emerald Award - Seattle South Asian Film Festival 2014
* Bishwaratna Dr. Bhupen Hazarika International Solidarity Award 2017
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vithanage, Prasanna
1962 births
Living people
Kala Keerthi
20th-century Sri Lankan male writers
20th-century Sri Lankan writers
21st-century Sri Lankan male writers
21st-century Sri Lankan writers
Alumni of D. S. Senanayake College
People from Panadura
Sinhala-language film directors
Sri Lankan documentary filmmakers
Sri Lankan film directors
Sri Lankan film producers
Sri Lankan male screenwriters