The cultural program 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 in Sri Lanka has organised a conference about Sri Lankan Cinema by Mrs. Vilasnee Tampoe-Hautin on the 1st of December 2023, at Lighthouse Auditorium and Lawns (24, Horton Place, Colombo 7).
Mrs. Vilasnee Tampoe-Hautin is a 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). It 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 Sri Lankan cinema.
