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Elevating SL’s documentary and movie production industry

08 Aug 2021

  • In conversation with Bandula Vithanaarachchi 
By Imsha Iqbal  Sri Lanka has ventured into the international arena of movie production with the Asociación Latinoamericana de Comunicación Audiovisual Parlamentaria (ALCAP) – the Latin American Parliamentary Association of Audiovisual Communication – by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). In an interview with us, TTv Media Hub of Sri Lanka Chairman and Managing Director (MD) Bandula Vithanaarachchi stated that taking the Sri Lankan movie production industry to the international arena would provide young movie producers, artists, as well as journalists exposure to the international qualities and standards in movie production and documentary-making. The MoU, which was on “Documentaries for Development”, was signed by Vithanaarachchi and ALCAP Regional Hub General Regional Director Dr. Marcelo E. Decoud.  Vithanaarachchi said: “Sri Lankan artists and journalists lack two things; either they do not have enough facilities to enter the international movie production industry, or gaining knowledge or exposure has been challenging,” implying the purpose behind signing this MoU is to provide Sri Lankan producers, artists, etc., the opportunity to overcome these challenges.  Speaking about the joint venture with ALCAP, he said that the Parlamentaria works as a hub with the entertainment sector and comprises almost 20 countries. The local industry would benefit with their skills being promoted through this hub.  “If a documentary is produced in Sri Lanka, for instance, they (ALCAP) provide the material for particular competitions that they will conduct, and they will encourage the promotion of the documentary in regional countries,” said the TTv Media Hub Chairman, explaining how the ALCAP operates. Further elaborating on the contribution of the ALCAP, Vithanaarachchi expressed that it is difficult for people to sustain their livelihoods in this industry at a time when they may have lost their occupation, due to the fact that the market of movie production and documentary-making is small as well as excessively competitive. Accordingly, the international movie market is not open to them, with the ALCAP providing support in finding the market if they cannot find the market within their locality. He said: “These documentaries might not gain much traction in Sri Lanka, but in Europe, it is highly valued since certain cultural nuances that are embedded in these are a new experience for those viewers,” explaining that the contribution of the ALCAP in promoting Sri Lankan movies in different countries would create an abundance of opportunities for these young artists. He cited as an example the documentary that was done by BBC on Toque macaques in Polonnaruwa, which reached a landmark in documentary-making. Furthermore, the ALCAP is willing to pay an approximate amount of $ 20,000 for a good-quality production; this amount can be channelled into the production of the movie. Vithanaarachchi said he also looks forward to teaching English under the sponsorship of the ALCAP, to those who are looking to study movie production, which would prepare moviemakers in the country who want to learn in a foreign country.  “The MoU focused on these areas initially. However, it is anticipated that the areas covered in this MoU will be widened to sectors other than movie and documentary production. This (MoU) was signed through the connections that I have built throughout my career,” Vithanaarachchi said. He added that he expects to launch a promotional campaign from September this year onwards, with the objective of promoting this initiative with the ALCAP to the journalists and artists who engage in documentary and moviemaking. Thus, the aforementioned MoU would be further extended to other sectors of the entertainment production industry and those people will be promoted to the potential market beyond the limits of the island.  “I invite journalists and veterans in the industry to share their career profiles with us in order to be taken into the ALCAP project with the goal of introducing them to international societies, journalists’ forums, as well as competitions to actively engage in these sectors. “At the moment, the major focus is on movies and documentaries since these are the fields I am familiar with, as I do work on documentaries that are webcasted.” Additional sectors would be focused on following the month of September with the expectation of amending the existing MoU. “The promotional campaign is to take place with an Indian counterpart, Manish Uprety,” said Vithanaarachchi. Elaborating further, he said that Uprety is the F.R.A.S. of ALCAP, the Special Advisor for Asia and Africa, and he has convinced Vithanaarachchi on the aforesaid concept of documentaries.  When it comes to the concept of “Documentaries for Development”, Vithanaarachchi believes Sri Lanka’s work is not of international standards. He explained: “What we (the movie and documentary production industry of Sri Lanka) lack is not technology. I have observed that the thinking pattern also influences the outcome of these productions. Therefore, these need to be improved and this exposure through the MoU would open the doors and push the industry towards winning competitions.” When we inquired about TTv Hub being a part of the MoU, Vithanaarachchi emphasised: “TTv Hub is not a part of this MoU. It is me, individually, who is involved in signing the MoU,” adding that he wants to influence every person in the field in the country and gain the most from this joint attempt with the ALCAP. The ALCAP is established with the focus on the Global South, said Vithanaarachchi. The ALCAP anticipates expanding to countries such as Malaysia, Bangladesh, and other countries nearby. “Almost 24 countries have the ties with the ALCAP,” he said. In terms of the country, he believes that the improvement in movie and documentary production would change international perspectives about Sri Lanka.  The entire process of encouraging professionals to send proposals of their productions to be promoted in foreign countries with the benefit of knowledge and generating capital, would take almost half a year or one year. After three years, Sri Lanka’s documentary production industry would thrive, he said.  In conclusion, Vithanaarachchi said that he wants to encourage the young Sri Lankan producers to create standardised documentaries about Sri Lanka. The ALCAP is a project which favours the right to free access of public information of parliamentary and political audiovisual communication in all deliberative fields. Its focus was initially on the communities, multiculturalism, social economies, and unique characteristics of the Latin American countries. However, in the present backdrop, its focus has expanded to cover Asian as well as African countries. It also works with the United Nations Office for South-South Co-operation (UNOSSC), United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), and the European Parliament.


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