Your chance to support a 2024 a film on a great Sri Lankan artist,
conservationist and visionary, Nihal Fernando (1927-2015)
...in search of Nihal Fernando
A documentary film by Martin Pieris
Your opportunity to support the making of a film celebrating the extraordinary life of the Sri Lankan conservationist and artist, Nihal Fernando (1927-2015)
I am seeking funds to complete the final postproduction stages of my documentary film …in search of Nihal Fernando. Nihal Fernando was a talented and dedicated photographer in Sri Lanka. However, more than that, he championed the protection of the natural and wild places in Sri Lanka.
As one of the interviewees in the film points out “the artistic history of Sri Lanka will always remember Nihal Fernando because of his exquisite photography, but that would be a travesty, if he was only remembered for that, because he was totally committed to conservation, the protection of wild places, wild creatures of Sri Lanka, and to the people. Because conservation is primarily about people. When we fight for the environment, we fight to save our natural world, we are also fighting for ourselves…”
The film highlights Nihal’s breathtaking photography of Sri Lanka which he captured throughout his life with immense skill and dedication, promoting the natural wilderness “The Wild, The Free, The Beautiful” (the title of one of his several publications). The film includes interviews with those he influenced, not only with his photography, but also his love and attention to the wildlife and wild places and the people of Sri Lanka.
This film has been, up to this stage, funded by me (Martin Pieris) and shot in Sri Lanka on two trips there in January and May 2024. I completed the shooting in May and am in the process of post-production. The film will be completed by December 2024 with plans to premiere in Colombo in January/February 2025.
The funds will be used for: employing a professional editor to complete the fine-tuning of my edit on the film and its audio soundscape, travel expenditure in January 2025, the venue hire and projection equipment cost for the event.
My self-funded film work so far
2021– Song of Lanka – presented as an addendum to my PhD thesis, The ˙43 Group and its Legacy in Sri Lanka. Premiered September 2022 at the Lionel Wendt Art Centre, Colombo
2022 – From Isle of Wight to Ceylon – Julia Margaret Pattle Cameron
An impression of Julia Margaret Cameron’s final years in Ceylon 1876-79. Premiered September 2022 at the Lionel Wendt Art Centre, Colombo
2023 – trouble with Laki – a documentary
Life and times of the Sri Lankan artist Laki Senanayake 1937-2021. Premiered September 2023 at the Lionel Wendt Art Centre, Colombo.
Online links:
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/220828/plus/portrait-of-a-portraitist-from-the-mists-of-time-492840.html
https://www.sundaytimes.lk/240211/plus/new-film-captures-lakis-perpetual-sense-of-wonder-547957.html
Rewards
- A$10 Pledge without a reward
- A$25+ Online exclusive preview of the film before its premiere in Colombo
- A$ 50+ Online exclusive preview of the film before its premiere in Colombo and receive an acknowledgement in the film’s credits
$10 Special “Thanks!” and project updates
Your contribution, no matter the amount, is deeply appreciated and will be critical to the successful completion of this project. You will receive updates as the next stages of this project progress. Thank you for supporting Nihal Fernando’s dream of protecting Sri Lanka’s heritage and natural beauty – “The Wild, The Free and The Beautiful”.
$25 Online pre-release private link
For your contribution, I invite you to be amongst the first to preview an online release of the film, along with receiving my special thanks for your support. You can view the film before the premier showing in Colombo, Sri Lanka via a private link, as well as receive update emails from me, as the release date approaches.
$50+ Your name in the final credits, plus a pre-release online link.
Every amount over $50 will go a long way to support this film. In appreciation, your name will be listed in the final credits of the film for supporting Nihal Fernando’s vision for Sri Lanka. You will receive update emails from me as the release date approaches. By supporting me to manage development costs, your pledge enables the highest quality production possible for this film.
About Martin Peiris
My first film after a career in photography, Song of Lanka, began during my PhD research (University of Newcastle) in 2015 – an opportunity to fulfil a lifelong dream of combining visual imagery with sound and music to form a narrative. I went on to complete two other films From Isle of Wight to Ceylon – Julia Margaret Pattle Cameron (2022) and …trouble with Laki – offering glimpses into the life and times of artist Laki Senanayake 1937-2021(2023).
Based in Sydney, my study is filled with books on Sri Lankan arts and history, and my research keeps bringing me to evermore creative streams in Sri Lanka. The recent years have been a preparatory time for this new, tentative filmmaker self to share ideas and experiences in film. Three other publications of mine were part of the pre film phase – The Sri Lankans – a portrait of a developing nation (book published 2007), Serendip to Sri Lanka – a photographic journey, (Masters thesis) (2012) and The˙43 Group and its Legacy in Sri Lanka (Doctoral thesis) (2021).
