Agenda 14 unveils cinema of tomorrow
View(s):One of Sri Lanka’s prominant platforms for emerging filmmakers, the Agenda 14 Short Film Festival celebrated its 15th edition this year, concluding recently with young filmmaker Sureni Ranawaka winning the coveted Best Short Film Award.
Held during the first week of December at the Goethe-Institut in Colombo, the festival honoured 14 talented filmmakers across 11 award categories, continuing its mission of nurturing fresh cinematic voices. This year’s submissions arrived from 16 districts, reflecting the growing reach of the festival. From these, 50 short films were selected and screened from December 4 to 7 at both the Goethe-Institut and the Alliance Française de Colombo.
The festival’s top honour went to Sureni Ranawaka for her short film ‘Is Snow White?’, while the Jury Award was presented to Jacob Luke Jeroshan for ‘Neelum Oor Kadaisi Iravu’. Created and curated by renowned filmmaker Anomaa Rajakaruna, the Agenda 14 Festival has evolved into a prominent arena for young voices exploring bold ideas, social themes and new forms of cinematic expression. This year’s festival saw a diverse array of stories and artistic approaches, highlighted by the following award winners:
In the category of Most Promising Filmmaker, the award went to Kenula Pathirathna for ‘Vipallasa’, recognising exceptional potential and vision.
The Most Gender Sensitive Film award was presented to Fathima Shanaz for her film Unwritten Verses, chosen from strong contenders that included ‘Withered Flower’ and ‘Is Snow White?’.
The Sunila Abeysekera Memorial Human Rights Prize, a category that honours films addressing human rights and social justice, was awarded to Thiyagaraja Yuwarajan for A’ttai Kadiththathu Poga Meedhamulla Kaalgal’.
In the Micro Short Film category, Ginuki Jayaweera won for Neth’s Folly, while the Green Award recognising environmental themes went to Dinesh Balasri for Trace. The festival also celebrated experimental works, with the Best Experimental Film award going to Avishka Arangalla for His First Period. Outstanding performances were recognised with awards to Sureshkumar Mithujan for ‘Neelum Oor Kadaisi Iravu’ and Nuzha M.W.F. for ‘Withered Flower’, with a special mention awarded to Ramesh Pavithran for ‘Trace’.
The Best Animation award was secured by Nayani Narayana for ‘Stuckholm’, while Thamesh Malinda won Best Editor for Cold Desire. The Best Cinematographer Award went to Viranga Pathirage for the visually striking ‘Tears of Ceylon’. The Audience Choice Award is won by by Vinuri Vibudhana Kiriwendala for ‘Between Us’.
(SRF)
Searching for that next furry family member but couldn’t find one in your area? Hitad.lk has the solution with our extensive listings of dogs for sale in Sri Lanka!