Cinema opens new worlds, helps transition into better individuals, says filmmaker Vithanage

Sri Lankan filmmaker Prasanna Vithanage highlights the transformative power of film festivals in fostering personal growth and understanding.

Film festivals serve a platform for exploring new worlds and facilitate the transitioning into better individuals, Sri Lankan film-maker Prasanna Vithanage said at the International Film Festival 2024 hosted by Alliance Française that began on Friday.

In his opening remarks at the festival, organised by the Tamil Nadu Progressive Writers Artists Association (TNPWAA) and the Puducherry Film Forum, Mr. Vithanage said exposure to world cinema opens up new experiences and also helps viewers understand themselves.

“I always believe that films are not only a medium of entertainment but they also make us understand ourselves”, said Mr. Vithanage.

He hoped that after three days of viewing cinema from across the world, film lovers would be educated, entertained and evolved into better human beings.

The screening of Mr. Vithanage’s film Paradise that won the Kim Jiseok award at the 28th Busan International Film Festival, South Korea in 2023, set the stage for the three-day film festival that is showcasing six feature films and a documentary. The event also featured discussions and interactive sessions.

Offering felicitations, Tourism Minister K. Lakshminarayanan said international events such as film festivals dissolved geographical boundaries and cultural differences. Events of this kind, that have the power to unify and inculcate new thoughts and ideas, are the need of the hour, he said.

Chief Secretary Sharat Chauhan said India and France shared a love for cinema, with both finding a spot in the list of the top five movie producing countries in the world. In fact, while the French film industry was considered the world’s most important one in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the opinion about the most appreciated films is an honour shared by Indian and French movies, he said.