Sri Lanka has been known in history as "The Pearl of the Orient" and "Paradise Island". It is a happy blend of diverse cultures and religious traditions with a rich history stretching back over 2500 years.

The island has an abundance of unspoilt natural resources and a variety of fauna and flora, heritage sites, artistic treasures, wildlife, parks, beautiful mountains, rivers and beaches. Located in the Indian Ocean at the tip of India, where east meets west, the pear-shaped island is regarded as the gateway to South Asia. Such a diversified culture offers and nurtures filmmakers of that land.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka, with Chinese Film Bureau and National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka present the Sri Lanka Film Festival in Beijing as part of 50th anniversary celebrations of China-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations.

Sri Lanka's film industry dates to 1947. It has its own unique, distinguishable features differentiating its films from neighboring south Asian countries.

Four Sri Lanka films, which have shown in many international film festivals and won prestigious international awards, will be presented at Beijing's Sun Dong An Cinema City and Star City.

Uppalawanna

Dubbed as a contemporary Theiri Gatha, or the doctrine preached to female disciples of Lord Buddha, it is the first film highlighting the life of a Bikkhunis, or Buddhist female monk. The story is set against the backdrop of the dark period of the 1989 insurrection. It revolves around three Bikkhunis representing three different stages, played by Malani Fonseka as the eldest Sangeetha, Weeraratne as Uppalawanna and the youngest, Nanduththara, by child actress, Sandali Welikanna. Though the hermitage is restricted to males, one day a young university student runs into the hermitage after killing another student. He too receives fatal injuries and is met by Uppalawanna. Nearly two hours of the story is depicted around the emotional struggle between the two. Uppalawanna is the eighteenth film by director Sunil Ariyaratne. The veteran actress Malani Fonseka played the role of a mature female monk, shaving her head to do 100 per cent justice to the part of Sangeetha.

2pm, November 22, Sun Dong An Cinema City

Walls Within

Though the director is a relative newcomer and also rather young, this film is a rewarding cinematic and artistic experience. The story revolves around a navy man and a woman, Victor and Violet, who had been lovers and then separated from each other due to the outbreak of the Second World War. They meet each other again after the passage of nearly 20 years. Though Victor is still unmarried, Violet is married and a mother of two girls. The two are secretly in love and suffer with physical and mental torture. The pattern of separation, union, birth, marriage and death highlights the futility and barrenness of life as it is lived by men and women in class society.

6pm, November 22, Star City. 2pm, November 23, Sun Dong An Cinema City

Fire Fighter

Sediris, a hunter in a remote village, takes his 10-year-old son Tikira hunting in order to teach him the trade. Other villagers do not enter the forest as Sediris has scared them with false rumors of ghosts. The sudden appearance of a monk with a young disciple becomes a threat for Sediris. Various attempts by him to remove the monks fail, while the secret friendship developed between the two boys turns into a strong bond, challenging the adults. Inspired by the little monk, Tikira gradually learns to love animals instead of killing them. Villagers begin to accept the monks despite the threats by Sediris. One day while fleeing from villagers Sediris accidentally runs onto one of his own gun-traps and loses a limb. Helpless with six children and two wives to support, Sediris is surprised to see the monk he hated is there to help them. The bond between two boys becomes inseparable, and Tikira takes a drastic change of life. Environmentally engaging, spiritually stabilizing and intellectually stimulating, the movie is essentially a sweet blend of child cheer and spirit.

6pm, November 23, Star City. 11:40am, November 24, Sun Dong An Cinema City.

Sankara

A Buddhist monk hired to restore the fading frescoes of a southern Sri Lankan village temple wrestles with earthly temptations in director Prasanna Jayakody's serene meditation on the aesthetics of the Buddhist philosophy. Sankara is a different film from the contemporary Sri Lankan cinematic tradition, in respect of theme and plot, style and approach and focus of concern. Most marked is the lack of sex, glamour, action, suspense and verbose dialogue. In essence, it is a visual journey into the psychological ramifications of the human mind. Prassanna has chosen a young Buddhist monk who has come to a rural temple to restore graffiti. The partly destroyed paintings represent the essence of a lesser known Jathaka story, Thelapatha Jathakaya.

2pm, November 24, Star City. 10am, November 24, Sun Dong An Cinema City

Sun Dong An Cinema City, No.138 Wang Fujing Avenue, 6 Floor of Sun Dong An Plaza. 13868511-4393

Star City, BB65,Oriental Plaza No.1 East Chang An Avenue,Dongcheng District,1BB65 85185399, ext.101

(China Daily 11/21/2007 page7)