Remembering Lester

By Rohan Abeygunawardena
abeyrohan@gmail.com

(“The Message” that came after “Line of Destiny”)
“Ask Lester to come and see me”

If not for above message Lester James Peries (Lester) received from K. Gunaratnam, the film industry of Sri Lanka would have probably lost the classic work of the Master Filmmaker of the country.

Lester’s first Sinhala film Rekawa meaning “Line of Destiny in English” was certainly a line of destiny for Sinhala film industry that commenced with the screening of Kadawunu Poronduwa in January 1947.

But financially “Rekawa” was a failure.

Since Rekawa, there were no films coming in Lester’s way. He was seriously thinking of going back to England and pursue his former profession, Journalism.

Then came Gunaratnam’s message. More about it later.

Brief History of Entertainment Industry in Ceylon

From mid 1880s the chief mode of entertainment was the performance of Drama such as Noorthi, Sokeri and Nadagam in in Sri Lanka (British Ceylon). The Nadagam which was heavily influenced by India, were prolonged affairs, sometimes going on for days. Later John de Silva changed this tradition and introduced the Noorthi form of drama for evening entertainment.

It was in 1901 when a film (or movie as Americans call) was shown first time in Sri Lanka (British Ceylon). British governor West Ridgeway and prisoners of the Second Boer War viewed this short documentary film based on the British victory in the Boer War, the burial of Queen Victoria and the coronation of Edward VII. More English screenings followed and attracted British settlers and Anglicised Sinhalese and Tamils.

In 1925 Rajakeeya Wickremaya (Royal Adventure) became the first silent film to be made in Sri Lanka. This film was shown in India and Singapore. However, the reels got burnt before they were shown in Sri Lanka. Leader of the Sri Lankan Trotskyist political party Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), Dr. N.M. Perera, then a handsome young man, was the Indian director Guptha’s choice to play the role of the “Prince.”

Paliganeema

, a silent film produced and directed by W. Don Edward was screened in Colombo in 1933 (Wikipedia).

The South Indian entrepreneur, S.M. Nayagam who saw the potential of a Sinhala cinema culture decided to produce his maiden film. He approached his friend B.A.W. Jayamanne (BAW) and obtained the rights to produce a Sinhala movie based on BAW’s popular stage drama Kadawunu Poronduwa (The Broken Promise) under the same name.

This was the first officially recognised Sinhala film. It was first shown on January 21, 1947 at the Kingsley Cinema, Kotahena, under the patronage of senior minister D.S. Senanayake and Mrs. Senanayake. Thereafter Sri Lanka stepped into a new entertainment industry of “Silver Screen.”

In spite of a string of Sinhala films produced after Kadawunu Poronduwa, the South Indian Tamil films were popular with Sri Lankans. Beside many a Sinhala films produced in this era had the South Indian touch or formula and failed to capture the true nature of Sinhalese life or create anything uniquely Sri Lankan.

Silver Line of Silver Screen

Fortunately, a young man was recruited to newly established Government Film Unit (GFU). He was Lester James Peries.

When Lester was 17 years, he joined “Daily News” to pursue a carrier in journalism. In 1947, Lester travelled to England to join his brother Ivan Peries who was in London on an art scholarship. Lester met a young Ceylonese Hereward Jansz. Both had similar interest in film industry influenced by the film-making taking off in the UK after World War II. There were about 400 amateur film clubs around England. The two youngsters decided to make a film. Lester wrote the script and directing, while Hereward did the filming with their limited camera equipment.

Their first effort “Soliloquy” (1949), a short film, won the Mini Cinema Cup for displaying the best technical proficiency. This work was followed by three other experimental films.

Ceylon Government Film Unit (GFU) was inaugurated on September 5, 1948 with Wasan Italian as its first director and few months later Ralph Keene was appointed chief producer. Lester got an opportunity to face an interview with Keene while in London in 1952. Keene knew the young man’s talent as he was a member of a jury that selected and presented Lester, the upcoming director award. Keene suggested that he return to Ceylon to embark on a career on film making.

Lester returned to Colombo and joined the GFU Unit as Keene’s assistant.

“Without our being consciously aware of it, we were being trained in the finest traditions of British documentary. In a disused Nissan hut, once a temporary cinema shed for the R.A.F. during the war, in Velona, Moratuwa, headquarters of the GFU, a group of young film-makers were to emerge, radically changing the style of documentary film-making in Ceylon. Foremost among them was Hetti,” Lester wrote in Appreciation by him on the death of his good friend and one time colleague at GFU Pragnasoma Hettiarachchi under the caption “Tribute to a documentary visionary” published on October 14, 2001 in The Sunday Times.