us ambassador town hall – queen elizabeth dies – british pm liz truss – migara guneratne esq – ranjan ramanayake movie – kusumi 40th Good News From Jayam September 15, 2022 Pls Scroll Down 35 items Liz Truss Becomes UK’s Third Woman Prime Minister Liz Truss, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, was named winner as Conservative Party leader and the country’s Prime Minister. The party said Truss won the votes of around 57% of Conservative members, compared with about 43% for ex-Treasury Chief Rishi Sunak. Truss, 47, will become Britain’s third female Prime Minister, after Thatcher, who governed from 1979 to 1990, and Theresa May, who held office from 2016 to 2019. A Proud Family of Lawyers Migara Gunaratne took oaths as an Attorney on August 12th 2022. Migara is the son of Maithri and Sonali Guneratne of Barnes Place, Colombo. Grandson of Sri.Kantha and Sharmani Mathew. U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung’s Virtual ...

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Famous Sri Lankan Cinematographer Donald Karunaratne Passed Away in Valencia, Ca.   Veteran Sri Lankan cinematographer Donald Karunaratne passed away in Valencia, California, on August 28th, 2022 at the age of 77. Karunaratne’s legendary contribution to the development of Sinhala cinema from the days of the early 60s includes classics Karumakkarayo (1980), Ganga Addara (1980), Golumuhude Kunatuwak (1991), Sakkarang (2016) to his 2017’s Vaishnawi. Poronduwa, Love 2000, Keith Ranga’s Tom Pachayo and Ghosts Can’t do it starring Bo Derek, directed by John Derek. He has won 19 best cinematographer awards and in 2017 was honored by the President’s Lifetime Award to recognise his services to Sri Lanka’s film industry. Donald Karunaratne has worked with nearly all leading Sri Lankan film directors of his generation including the likes of Lester James Peiris, Chandran Rutnam, Dharmasena Pathiraja, Sumithra Peiris and Vasantha Obeyesekera. Donald is survived by his wife Shiranee, daughters Gayathri and ...

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Anecdotal Tit Bits: Making “The Bridge on the River Kwai”-by Michael Roberts ONE: The Theme Tune and George Siegertsz Source:Thuppahis The mainline tale about the production process in Ceylon in the composition of the outstanding film The Bridge on the River Kwai – a film based on an actual wartime commando operation involving the destruction of a bridge being built with POW labour by the Japanese war machine in Thailand – can be read at https://thuppahis.com/2021/08/02/kitulgala-and-the-classic-movie-bridge-on-the-river-kwai/ Its digital presentation has generated sideline tales from within the Sri Lankan circuit of 2021 which merit public exposure for the historical record. The Wikipedia account about the film runs thus: “The Bridge on the River Kwai is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, the plot and characters of Boulle’s novel and the screenplay are almost entirely fictional. The cast includes Alec Guinness, William ...

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Kitulgala and the Classic Movie “Bridge on the River Kwai”-by Michael Roberts Chandran Rutnam and William Holden while shooting The Bridge on the River Kwai. Source:Thuppahis Nihal Rajapaksa has sent me three video clips[1] pertaining to that classic film “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” starring actors William Holden (American), Alex Guinness (British) and Jack Hawkins (British) – a film that was directed by David Lean and was shot in Ceylon in 1957  — with local links aided by the collaboration of Chandran Rutnam among other locals. Whatever your age, these clips are a “Must See” category (three specific web-references afe served up below in RED). The Bridge On The River Kwai Film Location Sri Lanka      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQkcDQd1nww ONE: The first clip is quite remarkable in depicting the Kitulgala arena today – a landscape that has returned to nature and swallowed the elaborate film-set constructed over several months by the British-American film production team — a set that included a railway ...

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MOVIE BUSINESS IS VERY HEALTHY; DON’T KNOCK IT!-by Chandran Rutnam Huge billboard in Colombo featuring running films_ a sight hard to be seen now Source:Dailymirror “In most instances the director drunk with applause and adulation has disconnected with the producer who gave him the opportunity. The Content must generate money so that the producer or the production company could continue to produce the next package of Content.” The film business is a very lucrative business in all the countries of the world with the exception of Sri Lanka. WHY? The film industry is not a high-risk business that many perceive it to be, if it is treated and respected as an ‘Industry.’ The stigma that it is dangerous for investors and banks because the chances are that they will not see their money back is not really true. If you choose the right concept, the right budget and the right ...

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FINALLY…CINEMA IS AN INDUSTRY-by Chandran Rutnam Source:Dailymirror A scene from the film ‘Kadawunu Poronduwa’   Finally, Sri Lanka has joined the world of international cinema and accepted the obvious fact that Cinema is an INDUSTRY. We were forty years behind but that is a norm for Sri Lankan cinema. We were ten years behind in our entry to digital projection. “It has also been observed that the cinema industry in most of the countries in the world has been improved with the recognition of cinema as an industry.” (Daily Mirror  17 November 2021) Where have we been? Sleeping in the trenches? The motion picture business is a multi million dollar business throughout the world EXCEPT SRI LANKA. Why? In ALL our neighbouring countries, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, the business is booming.  Better than it has ever been, even after the pandemic. What are we doing wrong? Why didn’t ...

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A Conversation on Conservation – BY Kalani Kumarasinghe Source: Daily Mirror Efforts aimed to reverse environmental damage and help people reconnect with nature, are all part of a growing global consciousness of caring for the world we live in. Although a relatively new phenomenon for many, Sri Lankan born singer-songwriter Alston Koch distinguished the potential impact of climate change, almost three decades ago.    Mr. Koch, the global artiste, who played the lead in the Chandran Rutnam directed biopic ‘According to Matthew’ was recently in Sri Lanka to partner with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The 18th meeting of the Conference of Parties is scheduled to be held in Sri Lanka in May, along with the meetings of the CITES Standing Committee.    CITES is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals. It was drafted as a result of ...

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ALSTON KOCH & JACQUI FERNANDEZ’s  performance draw thousands to the cinema! The film critics and the public acclaim the long awaited ‘ACCORDING TO MATTHEW’ that opened in Sri Lanka this week as a ‘Star Studded’ romantic thriller and an ‘Eye opening cinematic experience’ directed by Chandran Rutnam. Recently completed in Hollywood with a new edit and the latest in post production & recently accepted by theACADEMY AWARDS 2018 has placed this engrossing film in a very enviable position. Jacqui Fernandez in a sensual performance and a brilliant acting debut by the Richard Burton of the Asian Cinema Alston Koch has attracted the cream of the Colombo social elite to cinemas across this island paradise.    Reviews across the board call it a ‘revolutionary cinematic experience ‘ for the Sri Lankan  cinema while others call it a transcendent theatrical experience. A majestic performance by Alston Koch who in the past 2 weeks carried away the ‘SRILANKAN OF THE YEAR’award in ...

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