Sunday Times 2
Jaffna International Cinema Festival for second consecutive year
View(s):By Minushi Perera
Agenda 14 in collaboration with the Fine Arts Department of the University of Jaffna and Ceylon Theatres presents the Jaffna International Cinema Festival JAFFNAICF ) 2016 from September 23 to 27 in Jaffna.
JAFFNAICF 2016 is being held for the second consecutive year to celebrate independent cinema in the peninsula, recovering from the war. Using art to reach out to people, this festival aims to create a space for communities across borders to interact with each other through cinema.
“The first Jaffna International Cinema Festival was held in 2015. We showcased about 22 award-winning and critically acclaimed foreign movies for film lovers in the Jaffna peninsula and also many movies produced by Sri Lankans and about 15 short films by aspiring filmmakers in the north. Following in the footsteps of last year’s success the company hopes to further broaden horizons this year as well,” Ceylon Theatres Manager Marketing Chamal Fonseka said.
“This year we will open the festival with an award winning film, ‘I, Daniel Blake’ by Ken Loach, which is its Asian premiere and close the festival with an award winning film titled ‘Visarani’ from Chennai, India by the well known film director Vetrimaaran,” said the director of JAFFNAICF, Anomaa Rajakaruna.
An international jury will select the best debut film of the festival and best short film of the festival. The jury members are, Alice Shih from Canada, Axel Estein from Germany, Gaytri Chatterjee from India and Juan Carlos Lemus Polania from Colombia.
Three master classes will be conducted for filmmakers by Andrea Wenzler (Germany ) on editing, Shanmuga Raja ( India) on acting, and Shyaman Premasundara ( Sri Lanka ) on sound designing. A competition for the short films will be held and the jury would select the winners.
“Tamil cinema celebrates its hundredth anniversary this year but unfortunately due to the 83 riots most of the studios which produced Tamil films were destroyed and we lost the films too. Jaffna International Cinema Festival will be screening ‘Kuthuvilakku’ – a well known Sri Lankan Tamil film,” said Anomaa Rajakaruna.
See www.jaffnaicf.lk for details of the schedule and cinemas that films are to be screened.