Conference on Sri Lankan Cinema and society

The cultural programme of the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between France and Sri Lanka continues with a sequence dedicated to Sri Lankan Cinema.

The French Embassy to Sri Lanka and the Maldives have organized a conference about Sri Lankan Cinema by Vilasnee Tampoe-Hautin on 01 December 2023, at the Lighthouse Auditorium and Lawns (24, Horton Place, Colombo 7).

Vilasnee Tampoe-Hautin is Professor at the University of La Reunion. Her research has addressed various aspects of Indian Ocean cultural history, with a focus on cinema and identity politics in colonial and post-independent contexts in India and Sri Lanka.

She is the author of a number of articles and books, including two biographies of Sri Lankan filmmakers, Robin Tampoe, Last of the Big Ones (2008) and Sumitra Peries, poetess of Sinhala Cinema (2011), as well as a two-volume study about Sri Lanka Cinema, from 1896 to nowadays.

This conference will present the growth of cinema in colonial and post-independent Sri Lanka (Ceylon).

The talk will highlight the groundbreaking efforts by individuals, both foreign and local, to consolidate its artistic, and industrial bases, including France’s own contribution to both the development of Sinhala-speaking films as well as academic research on the Sri Lankan cinema. For more information, check the website: https://lk.ambafrance.org/-Anglais-