Screening of ‘How to become a filmmaker with 10 dollars’
View(s):Screening of ‘How to become a filmmaker with 10 dollars’, a film about two amateur filmmakers trying to discover a path to realise their film-making dream presented by Wannabe Films will be held today, Sunday June 4 at 7.00 pm, at the Sooriya Village located at No.49, Skelton Road, Colombo 5. Presented by Art in The Village featuring Kolamba Talkies, admission for the screening is free.
First time filmmakers Dennis Perera and Chandana Prasanna present ‘How to become a filmmaker with 10 dollars’, a film recognized internationally at the Euro-Fest – European International Film Festival 2016, Barcelona Planet Film Festival (nominated in the Best Director category), and the Los Angeles CineFest where the film was selected as a Semi-Finalist.
A story about two friends, with just 10 Dollars in their hands, set to interview famous local filmmakers in a bid to find a way to realize their filmmaking dream. With a handy-cam borrowed from a colleague and a guerilla-style shooting setup, they try to talk with as many filmmakers as possible, in the hope of cracking the ‘secret’ of becoming a filmmaker. Featuring award-winning filmmakers Vimukthi Jayasundara, Sanjeewa Pushpakumara and Prasanna Vithanage, this documentary follows an unconventional and heady journey, which reveals interesting aspects of Sri Lanka’s dying film industry and the story of a few people who are still not ready to leave the sinking ship.
Dennis Perera who has studied the arts of theatre, film direction, television programming and acting both formally and informally in and out of institutions, is the director of ‘Thathagatha’ (2007) and ‘Gotaimbara Kolama’ play performed in 2016  among a few other short dramas. He is the writer and director of ‘Three wheel diaries’ a film which is to be screened in the future among other short films directed by him.
Chandana Prasanna debuted his film career with the short film ‘Ape Kale Weerayek’ (2005) which was awarded one of the 10 best shorts in 2005 by Sri Lanka National Film Corporation. Later he worked with several directors on some guerrilla film projects as a writer, director and an editor. He edited Boodee Keerthisena’s latest feature ‘Alone in a Valley’ (2017) and guest directed Thisara Imbulana’s debut feature ‘Nino Live’ (2017).
The Sooriya Village is a facility fabricated to educate and cluster artistes by bringing them together from all corners of the nation. ‘Art in The Village’ provides artistes from musicians to dancers to dramatists to film directors to writers to showcase and discuss their arts with audience members. Starting from the screening of ‘How to become a filmmaker with 10 dollars’, every month ‘Art in The Village’ will be screening a unique collection of art produced by local artists from all corners of the nation.
Kolamba Talkies (KT) came to light in 2014 as a concept that brings Sri Lankan indie filmmakers together through a chain of screenings.