The two films are Thunwenno (The Third Generation) based on the experiences of youth in Dehiattakandiya, a Mahaweli settlement in the Eastern Province and Wanaspathi Uruma Laddo (The Inheritors of the Jungle) based on the experiences of youth in Dambana, a village of indigenous people in the Uva Province. The Colombo Institute invited the group present to express ideas not only to initiate a discussion but also as a means of further improving the third film they are set to produce in Aludeniya in the upcoming months. The discussion was facilitated by Ranjith Perera of the Social Scientists’ Association and the Civil Rights Movement and the film directors and producers responded to key ideas presented by members of the audience.

Ideas expressed about Wanaspathi Uruma Laddo included thoughts on how the traditional and transitional cultural facets had been woven into the film, the insights into gender relations among the indigenous groups made possible through the imagery etc. Thunwenno generated a discussion on if the film captured something unique to the particular community that is being portrayed and if the ‘real’ issues of the community were highlighted. A question was also raised regarding the link between the photography workshops conducted with the youth and the films produced. The directors and producers took the opportunity to respond to some of the comments. Clarifications regarding the nature of the link of the films to the photographs taken by the youth, the democratic process through which selection of themes was done for portrayal and some of the issues faced in editing the film to suit the preferences of the particular communities were made by those involved in the productions.

Workshop participant lighting oil lamp

 On 13^th November 2008, Nadee Art center in Dehiattakandiya opened to the public an exhibition of selected photos taken by its young student members during the photography workshops organized by the Colombo Institute since February 2008. The exhibition is the culmination of the series of workshops and activities where these youth were trained everything from framing images to reading and interpreting images.  The 20 color images selected for the show essentially depict the backgrounds and circumstances of the workshop participants, all of whom are students who offer art as a subject for the GCE Advanced Level examination. One student, Thakshila who addressed the gathering on behalf of the group said the exhibition as well as the refurbishment of the gallery was a “dream that had come true which was still difficult to envisage.” She as well as others who spoke suggested that such efforts should continue in the future. A large number of invitees consisting of members of Colombo Institute, Theertha International Artists Association from Colombo and Gaveshi Resource Centre in Aludeniya as well as teachers and young students from neighborhood schools and regional education officials attended the opening.    

A group of students at the exhibition

In preparation for the exhibition, Colombo Institute helped refurbish the Nadee gallery. All non specialized labor was generated from within the group and the interior and exterior painting of the walls, cleaning the exterior garden and installation of a new lighting system was undertaken by the students themselves.  Paid services were procured for the wiring for new lights.  The Institute funded the purchase of gallery lights and wiring and installation equipment from Colombo as well as all the paint, related amnesties, printing of invitation cards for the exhibition and catering for the opening event. In addition, the frames used for the occasion were manufactured locally with provision to be re-used. As such, 23 mahogany frames with a glass front were made with a back door that can be opened for the insertion of photos or paintings.  Both the refurbished gallery and frames can now be re-used by the Nadee Center as well as by other groups in the area. The expectation of the Colombo Institute was that a reasonably well equipped gallery be made available for the use of the youth in the area that was not restricted by the kind of red tape usually associated with state or more formal setups of this nature. 

learning to use cameras

The first session was conducted on 20^th and 21^st of June 2008 where 30 participants took part. Though originally planned to be held at the main hall of the Aludeniya Maha Vidyalaya, the venue had to be shifted to the nearby Public Library as the school premises was taken over for a political event. The workshop series has the active support of the Public Library, the Aludeniya Maha Vidyalaya and the Gaveshi Resource Center.

On the first day, Colombo the Institute team ran into considerable difficulties due to a day long power failure. Audiovisual equipment usually used for these sessions could not be utilized on the day and screening of the film also had to be cancelled due to the same reason. Nevertheless, Jagath Pathirage conducted the session on photography using handouts and managed to ignite considerable discussions among the young participants.

trainee monk helping fellow student

In this session, an introductory to art photography took place. In addition to 27 folders containing lecture notes, the Institute also donated to the Gaveshi Resource Center 10 readers containing additional material in Sinhala on basics of art photography and two books in Sinhala on cinema and film.  These were to be for the specific use of workshop participants.

Ten cameras were distributed among the participating students with the Gaveshi Center handling coordination among the 27 participants.  They were instructed on how to use the cameras from loading film reels and batteries to using the flasher and other modalities.

The Institute also donated to the public library its own Sinhala language publications and study guides for GCE AL students for subjects such as geography, art, Sinhala, economics and so on.

CI donates books to aludeniya public library

writing a script

On 6th and 8th of June 2008, the Colombo Institute Team conducted another workshop at the Nadee Art center in Lihiniyagama, Dehiattakandiya focusing on script writing. The idea was to generate story lines from the young participants in areas that were thematically important to them. Among the themes they wanted to investigate in a potential script were the urban rural divide, the impact of external politics on village life, the impact of elephants on farming etc. The outline of a script was developed at this workshop. The young participants also wanted to write a script on how a young woman might see the world around her. They named this woman ‘Amanda,’ to represent all of them. Though this was supposed to be the last workshop to develop a script, the resource persons from Colombo Institute felt that at least one other workshop is required to complete this task and fine tune the script.

Several participants who were GCE AL students had also participated in a two week regional art workshop conducted by Nadee Art Center for Artists from different parts of the country.

Artwork at Nadee Arts Center

Artwork at Nadee Arts Center

The second workshop was held on 10th and 11th of May 2008. By this time, the participants had already taken the photos. The photos themselves narrated multiple stories that depicted the different perspectives of the participants. A dominant theme was the natural beauty of their surroundings and their sense of cultural identity as manifested through the framing of the images as well as related conversations.

selecting photos to develop a narrative

Looking at individual pictures as well as the entire series taken by each participant, Piyal Kariyawasam supported the participants to pick 10 or 15 pictures that would build a particular story that they wanted to narrate. This exercise progressed through a number of interconnected steps.

Visual artist and drama set designer Pradeep Chandrasiri who was also part of the Colombo Institute team helped in the process. In addition, he played the key role in selecting the best pictures from each participant to be used at the scheduled exhibition of the works presented as part of the workshop and film making process.

youth with cameras

In addition, ten copies of extra reading material on photography compiled specially for the course and two copies of a book on cinema and society were distributed as additional reading material.

At the conclusion of the project, the cameras and texts will be handed over to local community centers including the Adi Vasi Cultural Center in Dambana and to the library to be used by interested persons. The participants also saw the film ‘Gods Must be Crazy’ during these sessions.

As the second component of the course, dramatist Piyal Kariyawasam conducted the workshop on creative writing and script writing.

wasantha speaks during discussion on interpreting images

The group engaged in interpreting images in order to write a script and at the end of the two day session, were asked to take a series of photos that depicted some aspect of their lives. The photos will be the basis of the script they develop.

On April 4th 2008, a team of Colombo institute members visited the Adi Vasi Community leader, Vanniyeletto and briefed him on the progress of the first workshop and showed him the images of the workshop in progress. This is in response to a request made by him to be kept informed of activities.

meeting adivasi chief to report progress of project

pujitha selecting photos with youth

Pujitha de Mel held further discussions and conducted numerous exercises in order to tease out stories based on the most dominant themes seen in their photos. Ten photos each were selected for this exercise. Lasnatha Kumara, the head of Nadee Art Center and Pradeep Chandrasiri along with other Colombo Institute members collected the best photos from each participant to be included in an exhibition that would be organized at the Nadee Arts Center on a future date.

member of the adivasi community at the community center

Since these preliminary events and after an initial survey trip to Dambana in February 2008, Colombo Institute received permission from the Adi Vasi community leaders, particularly from its Chief Vanniyeletto to carry out the program in the community. The Colombo Institute organized its first full session on basics of photography and an introduction to scriptwriting and creative writing on 21st and 22nd of March.

At the ground level, coordination is handled by Mr. Vasantha Senevirathne, originally from Dambana and now living in Mahiyangana while maintaining kinship and other social linkages with the village. The participants included 12 youths from Dambana including young teachers from the Dambana Junior School where the sessions were held, and ten students from the nearby Mahiyangana area on the request of Mr. Pethum Jayasundara, an education officer in the region.

The usual educational prerequisite for the course (GCE - AL) as implemented in Dehiattakandiya and later in Aludeniya had to be made more flexible as a result of requests made by community leaders and the ground situation as very few would have been able to attend from the Dambana area if the AL requirement were strictly enforced. However, the relaxing of educational requirements did not hamper the progress of the work. It simply opened more opportunities to young people who were genuinely interested in photography and filming.