Legendary Sri Lankan singer Alston Koch has been invited to perform at the prestigious Academy Award ‘After Party’ which will be held at the Beverly Hills Hilton on the 26th of February following the conclusion of the Academy Award Ceremony at the Kodak Theater.
This exclusive gathering which has been dubbed ‘the Night of a Hundred Stars’ will of course be graced by the who’s who of Hollywood glitterati and also comes with a hefty ticket price of USD 1,500.
Alston, who has created a name for himself both locally & internationally as one of the sought after talents in the industry, continues to thus keep his star power aglow with his amazing performances.
Sanjeewa Pushpakumara’s drama, about a poor Sri Lankan villager’s struggle for her family’s survival after her husband’s death, bows at Rotterdam after its appearances in Busan and Tokyo.
In 2015, a French director won the Cannes Film Festival’s top prize with a film inspired by Sri Lanka’s contemporary political troubles; now, the South Asian country’s very own filmmakers have finally offered their own riposte. Revolving around a war widow’s near-complete physical and psychological breakdown as she goes to extremes to feed her family, Sanjeewa Pushpakumara’s Burning Birds is a much more poised and harrowing affair than Jacques Audiard’s Palme d’Or-winning Dheepan.
Burning Birds is, first and foremost, a fiery indictment about how women struggle and sink in war-torn, machismo-dripping societies. Just like his compatriot Vimukthi Jayasundara (The Forsaken Land, Between Two Worlds), Pushpakumara also ensures the social criticism is dressed up in a rigorous aesthetic; the protagonist’s spiral toward total martyrdom is shown through meticulously framed sequences.
Boasting European backing aplenty — the film was co-produced by a French company, and repped by a London-based outfit — Pushpakumara’s second feature, which premiered in Busan and then won a prize at Tokyo’s FilmEx festival last year, should travel far and wide on the festival circuit after its bows at Rotterdam and Goteborg. Pushpakumara’s first film, Flying Fish, was a competition title in Rotterdam in 2011, but was banned by the right-wing government back in Sri Lanka for its depictions of atrocities committed by the military in its offensive against Tamil insurgents.
Pushpakumara is understandably more careful this time around, and no soldiers are seen doing bad things onscreen; the villains here are either paramilitaries or civilians. But this is actually much more stinging a rebuke against the systemic failure of a society shaped and dominated by chauvinists — men who are more than willing to exploit times of social strife for their own personal gains.
Set in 1989, when Sri Lanka was still mired in civil war, Burning Birds charts the fall of Kusul (Anoma Janadari), a woman whose impoverished life is turned upside down when her fishmonger husband is arrested and summarily executed by a local militia for suspected subversive activities. With the breadwinner gone, Kusul is forced to look for ways to support herself, her eight children and her unsympathetic mother-in-law.
Determined to keep everybody alive and well — and especially in making sure her eldest daughter will continue her studies rather than leave school for a dead-end sweatshop job — Kusul begins her journey to earn a living in the poorest of lands. And from then on, it’s a journey through hell on earth: In addition to her labor in the most unseemly places — hammering stones in a dusty quarry, clearing blood and body parts in a slaughterhouse — Kusul falls foul of both sexual predators and self-righteous moralists.
As Kusul, Janadari delivers a powerfully rugged tour de force. Shunning easy histrionics, the veteran actor offers a remarkable performance showcasing her character’s silent, stoic spirit — a Sri Lankan Sisyphus struggling against insurmountable odds but persisting nevertheless. Juxtaposing her toils with wide, wild and windswept landscapes, Burning Birds is a blistering social and artistic statement.
Production companies: Neon Production, Sapushpa Expressions Cast: Anoma Janadari, Samanalee Fonseka, Mahendra Perera, Chandani Senevirathne Director-screenwriter: Sanjeewa Pushpakumara Producers: Antonin Dedet, Sanjeewa Pushpakumara Director of photography: Kalinga Deshapriya Production designer: Piyathissa Akurambada Costume designer: Ajantha Alahakoon Editors: Ajith Ramanayake, Katharina Wartena Music: R. Abaji, Philip David Sheppard Sales: Film Republic
Udari Nadishani plans to visit USA to attend the Ms International World Pageant in USA as Ms International World Sri Lanka 2017. The pageant will be held from February 24th 2017 to February 26th 2017 in a cruise ship leaving West Palm Beach in Florida.
Udari is a leading Sri Lankan fashion models with about 10 years of experience in the fashion and glamour world. She has done modeling in fashion shows, modeling events and successfully modeled for brands such as Sony, Lumia Textiles, Mobitel, Diliganz Fashion etc. She has been recognized as the best model of the world pageant as well as Mrs. Sri Lanka 2015 beauty pageant.
In addition to being involved in song visuals, Television advertisement, magazines, she has presented clothing, designs, and products in commercials, runways, advertisements, and/or fashion shows.
She is also working as the Model Coordinator with the ‘Role Model’ in Chilaw Road, Dalupotha Negambo.
When we hear the name ‘Srimali Fonseka’ it brings back to our memories the honor and glory she bestowed upon this country by winning the Mrs. Sri Lanka 2012 and Mrs. Asia International 2012 contest which was held in Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. By profession a beauty consultant she is also passionate on the subject of fashion designing. After she became Mrs. Sri Lanka she got more involved with charity work mainly involving children. Her vision is to uplift the life of those children who do not get adequate love, financial support and proper education. She also works as an actress and a fashion model. Recently she was appointed as one of the judges, to select the beauty queen for the Miss Global Sri Lanka International 2014 beauty contest that was organized by Boston Lanka where the winner will take part in the International contest to be held in Jamaica during December 2014.
Boston Lanka: What do you feel about being a judge in the Miss Global Sri Lanka contest?
Actually I have judged a few pageants in the recent past as well. After I emerged winner in the pageant I took part; I was appointed as a judge in the very next international pageant. This is something special to me, since it was organized by Sri Lankans who lives in USA. The girls I was expecting were better. So basically I think the pageant was good and the final judgment was exactly correct. They contestants were averagely ok because they didn’t have much time to prepare. So I would say they did rather well under the time constraints.
Boston Lanka: What was your role in the judge panel and what are the area’s that you specifically looked into in a contestant?
Mainly I considered the look because when we come to the stage we have to see the look of the contestants and of course the personality and also kind of how they handle the questions which is also important.
Boston Lanka: What were your thoughts when you were appointed as a judge for this contest by Boston Lanka Media Network?
Actually I was really happy. They called me three days before the pageant and I adjusted my schedule and decided to attend it. I didn’t know much about Boston Lanka but through the social media networks such as Facebook I have seen the things they’ve been involved with. So I quite happily accepted the invitation.
Boston Lanka: Tell us when did you first start modeling or taking part in beauty pageants and were there any incidents in your life that got you into this field?
Before I emerged winner, I haven’t done any modeling or taken part in any contests as such. It was my first pageant and somehow I won it. I wanted to participate as Miss Sri Lanka but I never had the time to do so. So I was waiting for a pageant to take part as Mrs. Sri Lanka and I got to hear about this from the media and applied for it. I got selected and of course I won the title. I was the only person who won this title after Rosi Senanayake, 27 years ago.
Boston Lanka: Where do you draw your inspirations from?
When I was small I had this dream, this vision. As children we all have a dream we want to aspire to. Rosi Senanyake was my role model. I wanted to be like her one day.
Boston Lanka: How do you think, winning these kinds of pageants impacts the recipients’ life? Is there a negative side to it as well?
It depends on the person. If you do something bad it will have negative impact in your life. If your actions are good it will impact your life in a positive manner. It depends on how you act with the title you received as well. Up to now I haven’t misused my title and I take things slowly, and I don’t want to taint my name with unwanted actions. I want to be a good icon in Sri Lanka and to be a role model for the children. That’s my main objective.
Boston Lanka: Do you have any motto’s that defines yourself or you live by? My motto is, live happily and make the lives of others happy. I don’t have many plans in my life.
Boston Lanka: As per your perception, what’s the meaning of life?
That is doesn’t depend on anyone. Your happiness can be found only by you.
Boston Lanka: What words of wisdom would you like to dispense to the young and aspiring models?
Modeling is not an easy task. You have to possess the talent and the looks. So what I mainly want to tell is, there are so many models out there but the actions of some have intentionally or unintentionally tarnished the name of our profession. So if you are a model or intend to become one you have to act, conduct yourself and be like one, with grace and decorum.
