By

Asoka Handagama

Sri Lanka is a part of the world and the world a part of Sri Lanka.

(Speech made by Asoka Handagama , Director of the International Film Festival of Colombo at the opening ceremony)

Good evening ladies and gentleman. We are gathered here to witness a pivotal moment in the history of Cinema in Sri Lanka. I say this because the International Film Festival of Colombo is the first completely international film festival to be held in our beautiful Sri Lanka.

Therefore, this is a sensational experience for all of us who are a part of the industry. I would like to welcome all of you who have joined us in sharing this incredible experience.

A newspaper article about the festival claimed that these six days of the international film festival are bound to change our lives. And so, one might wonder how a film festival could possibly change our lives.

Approximately a hundred films will be screened at this festival. These films with their diverse array of languages, religions and ethnicities and their portrayal of varied communities and lives are bound to broaden our knowledge about the human condition. How similar or different are our thinking patterns? What are the equalities and inequalities of humanity?

We might find that what we believe to be true in our society can perhaps be a myth in another and vice versa. We will see that Sri Lanka is a part of the world and the world a part of Sri Lanka. It may teach us that there is fulfillment in emptiness and emptiness within fulfillment. It is then that we see that our neighbor is not our enemy but a friend, a companion in our journey of life and that patience is essential.

This outlook on life is a necessity for a society that took a beating from thirty years of war. The films of this festival contain the key to making that change. That is why we say that the next six days may perhaps change your life.

This film festival is a flower that has been struggling to bloom in our heads. Therefore as the Festival Director, on behalf of the film directors’ guild of Sri Lanka, I pledge my heartfelt gratitude to all those who have joined us in making sure that this flower does not wither away in our heads.

Allow me to introduce a unique personality among these great facilitators.

Without the support of the Okinawa International Movie Festival of Japan, The International Film Festival of Colombo would not have become a reality.

Therefore, I take my leave by inviting Mr. Enrich Hiraiwa a representative of the Okinawa International Film Festival to address you now.