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A towering presence in
Ceylon
How Dr James Lester Pereis changed cinema
in his country
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Vivek Iyer
'Pereis is the closest relative I have to
the east of the Suez,' legendary Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray had
said of his Sri Lankan contemporary. Called the Satyajit Ray of
Sri Lanka, Dr James Lester Pereis single-handedly defined, created
and revolutionised Sri Lankan cinema.
Pereis' contribution to cinema starts from 1949, when he began as
an amateur director. He was born into an affluent Catholic family
April 5, 1919 in Dehiwela, Sri Lanka. His parents and teachers
expected Pereis to join a conventional profession like medicine.
But he was attracted to literature; he used to write poems and
plays in his school days.
Pereis began his career as a literary critic in 1944 in a magazine
called Kesari. By 1946, he was off
to London as a correspondent for the Times of
Ceylon. Pereis was highly influenced by the vigorous
documentary film movement sweeping London. He started making short
films while continuing as a journalist. He produced Soliloquy in 1949, followed by Farewell to Childhood, based on a
self-authored short story adapted to English conditions. Both
films won awards in Britain.
In Ceylon, the Italians had set up the Government Film Unit in
1947, which was quite active thanks to its newfound identity.
Persuaded by distinguished filmmaker Ralph Keene to return, Pereis
joined the GFU in 1954 and started producing documentaries on a
variety of subjects. This exposure to Sri Lankan conditions helped
him appreciate the country's cultural heritage.
Pereis later resigned from the GFU along with cameraman Willie
Blake and editor Titus Thotawatte to make more meaningful cinema.
Although the trio split later, Pereis went on to make Rekhava (The Line of Destiny). Released
in 1956, Rekhava changed the
destiny of Sri Lankan cinema forever. For the first time in Sri
Lankan cinematic history, a film was shot on location under
natural light with amateur actors. The film won great acclaim for
its honest and realistic portrayal of its countrymen.
Pereis has not looked back since, producing one memorabilia after
another. Gamperaliya (the changing
village) released in 1963 turned out to be a roaring success
commercially and won high acclaim from critics. The film won the
Golden Peacock Award at the 3rd International Film Festival of
India in New Delhi, 1965.
Pereis' best film Nidhanaya (1970)
was the first of a trilogy based on a novel by G B Senanayake. It
won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice film festival and is rated
among the best 100 films ever and the top 10 films of all time.
Inspired by the master craftsman, a new crop of Sri Lankan
filmmakers have now begun to emerge. GDL Perera, Gamini Fonseka,
Siri Gunasinghe are just a few who got recognition at the
international level.