Dharmasena Pathiraja

Pathiraja Navaratne Wanninayake Mudiyanselage Ranjith Dharmasena (28 March 1943 – 28 January 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter. He has been referred to as a 'rebel with a cause', an ‘enfant terrible of the '70s', and is widely recognized as the pioneer of Sri Lankan cinema’s 'second revolution'. He is also renowned as an academic, playwright and poet.

Early life Educated at Dharmaraja College, Kandy, 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 was The Dialectic of Region and Nation in the Films of Bengali Independents: Ghatak, Ray and Sen (2001). He learned the language of cinema from the film society movement, which was popular in Sri Lanka in the early sixties. He also recognized their sociopolitical limitations in a country which was heading into 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.

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. 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. Produced by Dhamma Jagoda. 1971 Putu (The Chairs of Eugène Ionesco) Translator and director. It won best translation script in the state drama festival in 1971.

Filmography

Year Feature Films Ref. 1974 Ahas Gauwa 1975 Eya Dan Loku Lamayek 1978 Ponmani 1978 Bambaru Avith 1980 Paradige 1981 Soldadu Unnehe 2002 Mathu Yam Dawasa 2014 Sakkarang 2014 Swaroopa

Unscreened Feature 1981 Sira Kandavura 1983 Shelton Saha Kanthi 1994 Whirl Wind (Vasuli) [Colour]

Shorts and Documentaries

2006 In Search of a Road [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) 1984 Putting The Last First – A documentary on local level community based projects for NORAD (35 mm Colour) 1974 The Coast (Werala) A 30 mts documentary on coast conservation for the Ministry of Fisheries, 1974. ( 35 mm Colour) 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) 1969 Enemies (Sathuro) [B&W]

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 Kampitha Vil

Publications struggle between the form and the content of Sinhalese theatre(Sinhala Naatye Aakruthiyahaa Anthargathayaathara Aragalaya), 2017 Kora Saha Andaya and vangagiriya, original plays, 2017 Putu, Sinhala translation of a play by Eugene Ionesco, 2017 Pedro paramo, translation of a novel, 2012