Documentaries allow you more space to penetrate into the matter and depict the ground reality

Kathmandu:

Why only fascinate the audience with the rich and lavish lifestyle of the elite? Why not, instead, focus on the issues pertaining to the lower class, fractured by unemployment, exploitation and lawlessness? This is precisely what Sri Lankan filmmaker Dr Dharmasena Pathiraja believes in.

A well-known name in Sri Lankan cinema, Dr Pathiraja was here recently to participate in the Film South Asia (FSA) with his documentary In Search of a Road. After getting an initial boost during the Sri Lankan film society movement of the 1960s, Dr Pathiraja has nine feature films and more than 30 documentaries under his belt.

Of Leftist inclination, Dr Pathiraja is against making “bourgeois artistic movies”, and is often referred to as ‘a rebel with a cause’.

“I want to make films that deal with the issues facing the lower and oppressed class, like unemployment and exploitation. Earlier, I also explored youth issues. Due to my political themes, critics have often labelled me a political filmmaker,” he shares.

His In Search of a Road takes the roads and routes that cut across North and South Sri Lanka to study the relations between the two sides, trying to place, as a critic has remarked, humanity above ideology.

Dr Pathiraja has received several accolades and recognitions. Apart from an array of national awards, he has also been awarded a ‘bronze’ at the 15th International Agricultural Film Festival in West Berlin, 1988. A retrospective of his films was also held at the Singapore Film Festival 2003. Besides participations, Dr Pathiraja has also served as international jurist in many international film festivals, which include, among others, Cairo, Singapore and Melbourne film festivals.

Although also into commercial films, he, however, expresses a penchant for documentaries. “Documentaries allow you more space to penetrate into the matter and depict the ground reality. In commercial films, you have to keep the audience in mind more,” he explains.

He is happy that the technological boom has now made documentary productions much easier. “You can make a quality movie at a lower cost, and with a crew of just three people,” he explains.

So has he found any similarities between the Nepali and Sri Lankan documentaries?

“I have only watched two Nepali movies, but going by them I think the theme of

anti-establishment and aspiration for peace seems to be strong in documentaries of both the countries.”

In this regard, he is also appreciative of FSA. “It has given South Asian documentary filmmakers a good forum to share ideas on films, politics, among others. It’s more of a friendly gathering and a current affairs show of South Asia. Besides, younger talents have also got an opportunity to gain recognition,” he opines.

Next FSA?

“Oh, yes!”