| Tissa Abeysekera | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 7, 1939 Maharagama, Sri Lanka |
| Died | April 18, 2009 (aged 69) National Hospital Of Sri Lanka, Neurological I.C.U. Colombo, |
| Cause of death | Myocardial infarction followed by a sudden Cerebral hemorrhage due to medical negligence. |
| Nationality | Sri Lankan |
| Other names | Ananda Tissa de Fonseka |
| Education | Dharmapala Vidyalaya |
| Occupation | Film Director/Writer, Chairman National Film Corporation, Board member Sri lanka Rupervahini Corporation, Board member University of Colombo, Board member of the Univercity of the visual and performing arts, Board member University of Keleniya, Visiting lecturere University of peradeniya/Ruhuna |
| Political party | Lanka Sama Samaja Party |
| Spouse |
Suvinitha Koongahage (1965-1973, Asanka Monarvilla(1979-to date) |
| Children | Aparna Nirmohi, Noriko Maduwanthi ,Charulatha Swethambari, Svetlana Kamalocini and Dimitra Amithodana |
Deshabandu Kalasuri Vishvaprasdini Dr.(Honoris causa) Tissa Abeysekera (May 7, 1936 – April 18, 2009) was a Sri Lankan filmmaker, writer, critic, presenter, interviewer and political activist.
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Tissa Ananda Abeysekera Guneratne de Fonseka was born in Maharagama, a railroad town 12 miles southeast of Colombo to Sir Arthur Solomn de Fonseka and lady Agnus de Fonseka. Tissa is also the grandson of Sir Carolis de Fonseka, who was a Mudliar to the British and is the great-grandson of Sir Solomn de Fonseka, who was a Gate Mudliar, although Tissa hails from the House of Greenlands in Havlock town, his father and mother happened to be middle-class folk. Due to loss of wealth, Tissa's father declared bankruptcy in 1949; however, it was after this that Tissa said he found himself..[1] He was not sent to school until age 11 due to poor health, and was tutored at home, after which he was educated at Dharmapala Vidyalaya; as a result of his father's loss he was unable to be tutored at home.[2] In school Tissa excelled as an outstanding marksman both as a junior and senior cadet, and also as a brilliant soccer player all the way to first fifteen. Tissa eventually held duties as Head Prefect. Tissa was to go to university to gain an L.L.B. and become a practicing lawyer, as did most members in his father's family; however, a liking to cinema developed in him, which caused curiosity, which eventually led to him being a critic, and a chance meeting with Dr. Lester James peries led him to find his inner film maker. Greatly disapprovingly his father allowed him to go on this endeavor, which today is looked on by more than 20 million people as a life worth living.
Tissa began his artistic career as a short-story writer writing in Sinhala, when he was still a teenage schoolboy. His short stories were prominently featured in the Dinamina and Janatha national newspapers. Barely out of his teens, he published a collection of Sinhala short stories, which received favourable reviews, bringing him to the notice of Professor Ediriweera Sarachchandra, who hailed him as "an outstanding original voice in Sinhala creative writing who shows promise of developing into a major talent".
However a chance meeting with Dr. Lester James Peries in the early 1960s lured him to the cinema, where he remained for the next 40 years. Tissa developed into an accomplished screenplay writer before he was 30. The screenplay he wrote for "Welikatara" was the first which launched him on a distinguished career as Sri Lanka's foremost screenplay writer. In 'Weikathara' he demonstrated his skill as a screenplay writer for the first time.(Previously he was credited only as "Additional Dialog Writer" for Lester James Films). "Welikatara" was followed by "Binaramali" and most importantly, Nidhanaya and Welikathara. He made over 40 documentaries for the Government Film Unit[1] before breaking through as a feature filmmaker with Karumakkarayo, based on Gunadasa Amarasekara's controversial novel. This was followed by Mahagedara (1983) and then the highly successful Viragaya (1988) based on Martin Wickramasinghe's novel, which was considered unfilmable. Viragaya is considered one of the finest Sinhala films ever made.[2]
In 1996, Abeysekara won the prestigious Gratiaen Prize for the best piece of Creative Writing in English for that year by a resident Sri Lankan for a novella Bringing Tony Home. He continued writing mostly in English, bringing out another collection of three stories, titled In My Kingdom of the Sun and the Holy Peak.
He was Chairman of the National Film Corporation from 1999 to 2001. He was subsequently the Director of the Sri Lanka Television Training Institute. Abeysekara served on the Boards of the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation and the Aesthetic Institute of Sri Lanka, affiliated to the University of Kelaniya, as a Council Member of the University of Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, and as a Trustee of the National Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka.[2]
1971. Ape Langama. A documentary on the CTB. 1972. SAHAN ELIYA. A feature-documentary, on the Co-operative Movement in Sri Lanka. Produced for the Government Film Unit. 1973. RATTARAN. A Short Film, on Savings, produced for the Government Film Unit. 1973–1976. Writes and directs over 40 documentary films for the Government Film Unit, in the capacity of Film Director permanently on the GFU Staff. Of these, 02 films, THE LAND REBORN, made for the Habitat Conference of 1974, and CHANGING LEAVES, made for the Non Aligned Summit, are special. Also loaned to the United States Information Agency (USIA) to make a Documentary on the nineteenth century American- Theosophist, Colonel Henry Steele Olcott in Sri Lanka, to commemorate the Bicentennial of American Independence. 1977. Began working as Writer/Director. On his debut feature film, Karumakkarayo, based on Gunadasa Amarasekara’s Don Pedrick Prize winning novel 1980. Writes, directs and produces, MAHAGEDARA. Presidential Awards for Best Film and Best Screenplay; Sarasaviya Awards for Best Film, Screenplay and Direction. 1981. Writes & Directs, SURYAMUKHI in Nepal, on the Population Dynamics of the country, for the Royal-Nepal Population Commission, and sponsored by the US/AID. 1983/84. Writes and Directs 02 films for Sri Lanka Rupavahini, LELI (based on a short story by Martin Wickremasingha, and BICYKALE, (based on a short story by Gunadasa Amarasekara).LELI, wins Merit Award at the Prix Futura Berlin, 1984UNDA Award of the International Catholic Office, for Best Single Episode, Tele-drama. 1984/85. Writes , directs and produces, 02 television series for the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka, titled, GANGAVATARANAYA and THUNKAL SIHINAYA 1985. Begins work on his third feature film, VIRAGAYA, based on Martin Wickremasingha’s celebrated novel. Completed in 1986, the film sweeps all the major awards in the three festivals held in that year, Sarasaviya, OCIC and Swarna Sankha, including those for Best Film, Best Direction, and Best Script.Film was also invited for Moscow, Montreal, and Hawaii International Film Festivals.In the Critics Poll of 1997, to choose the Ten Best Sinhala Films of 50 Years of Sri Lankan Cinema, VIRAGAYA, is selected Third. 1987. Writes, directs and produces, 12 part television series, titled DOLOS MAHE GANGAWA, for the Mahaweli Authority of Sri Lanka. 1989. Writes and directs, a television film, EKA GEI AVURUDDHA, based on a short story by K. Jayatlleke. 1990. Writes, directs and produces, A TALE OF TWO LANGUAGES, a 45-minute documentary, on the relationship between the Sinhala and Tamil languages for the International Centre for Ethnic Studies. 1993. February to September. Writes, directs and produces Part One, of a 12-hour television series in 28 episodes titled, PITAGAMKARAYO, in technical collaboration with the Sri Lanka Television Training Institute. 1995. February – August, writes, directs and produces, for Singer(Sri Lanka)Ltd, a television series based on R.L Spittel’s anthropological novel, VANASARANA (Savage Sanctuary) in 24 episodes. 1995/96. Completes 02nd Part of PITAGAMKARAYO. 1997. Writes, directs and produces a special documentary on Madame Sirimavo Bandaranaike to mark her 80th birthday. PITAGAMKARAYO begins telecast, and, wins all the major National Awards for television production in Sri Lanka, at the Sumathi, and OCIC tele-awards. 1999. Writes, directs and produces, THE SUN & THE MOONSTONE, a major documentary on the culture and history, the peoples and landscape of Sri Lanka, sponsored by the People’s Bank. 2000. Writes, and produces, ROOTS OF PARADISE, a documentary on the ruined cities of Sri Lanka, sponsored by the Cultural Triangle of Sri Lanka. 2003. Writes, directs, and produces, an 08 part documentary series, on the ethnic divide in the border villages of Sri Lanka, titled, Other Peoples, Other Voices, for the Human Rights Commission, Colombo, and funded by the EU.
1961. IPANELLA. Collection of Sinhala Short Stories. 1961/63. Theatre & Film Critic for the DAVASA Group of newspapers. 1993. VIRAGAYA. Screenplay 1997. PITAGAMKARAYO. A Sinhala Novel in 02 Parts 1998. BRINGING TONY HOME (Novella in English) Winner Gratiaen Prize for Best Piece of English Creative Writing by a Resident Sri Lankan for 1996 (Awarded in manuscript form prior to publication)Included as Michael Ondaatje’s choice in the Lost Classics Series, published as a book by Bloomsbury, London reached an average of 78,500,000 internet searches in under ten months of publishing making it the highest searched book in south east Asia. 2000. SINEMA SITHUVILI. A collection of a Q & A column on the cinema, first appearing in the film-weekly, Visitura 2004. RUPA-SWARUPA. Collection of essays on the cinema, written in Sinhala over a period of 30 years. 2005. IN MY KINGDOM OF THE SUN & THE HOLY PEAK. Three Stories in English.
Seminars & Conferences attended relating to Literature. 2001. Attended Conference on SAARC Literature in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on invitation from the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature. New Delhi. 2002. Presented Paper on Sri Lankan Literature at the Conference on South Asian Literature held in New Delhi’ 2003. Chairman, Panel of Judges for Gratiaen Prize. 2004. Represents Sri Lanka at the SAARC Writers Conference, in Lahore and read Paper on English Writing in South Asia. 2005. March. Participated, by invitation, and delivered Paper, at the 50th Anniversary Conference of the Sahithya Akademi of India/New Delhi. 2006. Attended Katha Asia, Literary Festival, held in New Delhi by invitation from Katha Asia Organisation.
Conferences, Workshops & Symposia attended, on Film. 1982 July to September. Conducted Workshop at the Worldview International Foundation, Kathmandu, Nepal, on Video Production. 1987. Symposium on City in Film, at the Hawaii International Film Festival. 1989. Invited to present Paper on Andrei Tarkovsky, at the Andrei Tarkovsky Readings, Moscow. 1994. Invited as speaker at a seminar on the Influence of the American Film on South Asian Cinema, at the American Studies Center, Hyderabad, India. 1997. Invited by the South Asian Institute of the Heidelberg University, for a screening of Pitagamkarayo, and a Symposium chaired by prestigious German Filmmaker, Edgar Reitz. 2002. Presented Paper by invitation at Seminar, Understanding Hollywood: From Real to Reel, at Chandigarh, India, sponsored by United States Education Foundation, India. 2004. June 13 – 20. Conducted Workshop on Hollywood Film at the Sri Lanka Television Training Institution, for the American Embassy.
Academic Activities/Teaching Film 1984. Begins work as Guest Lecturer on History and Aesthetics of Film, at the Aesthetic Institute, of the University of Kelaniya. Continues same in the Universities of Sri Jayawardenapura, Colombo, and Kelaniya Universities. 1989. Course Director on a course on Writing for Television at the Sri Lanka Television Training Institute. 1990. Course Director on Writing for television, conducted by the Sri Lanka Television Training Institute; July. 2005. Conducted workshop at Wakwella, Galle, for the National Cultural Foundation with funding from US/AID, on the Basics of Film Craft and Aesthetics, to the rural youth of the Tsunami affected areas of the South.
Travels abroad on Film Festivals/Film Studies/Visitorships etc. 1982. Member, Sri Lanka delegation to the Tashkent International Film Festival, USSR. 1983. Visits Satyajit Ray in Calcutta. 1987. Visits U.K on a British Council Grant to view and study the films of Alfred Hitchcock from his British period. Also participates at the London Film Festival as accredited guest. 1987/88. Visits the US, on an International Visitorship Grant from USIA, to tour the film archives at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, The Library of Congress, Washington, Film departments of the State University of Ohio, and UCLA, interacting with film academics, curators, and archivists, nd researching into the early period of American cinema. 1988. Visits, Stockholm, Sweden, for a programme of films by Ingmar Bergman, specially arranged by courtesy of the Swedish Film Institute. 1989. Second visit to Stockholm to view more films by Ingmar Bergman, and make preliminary arrangements for a Bergman Retrospective in Colombo.In November, 1989, leaves for Paris, on an invitation, by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for a programme at the Cinematheque Francaise. 1990. On invitation by the Goethe Institute, Colombo, participates in a retrospective of Documentary films from the Federal Republic of Germany, titled, Starting Towards Freedom, held at the Max Muhler Bhavan, New Delhi. 2002. September 29 – October 3. On invitation from the Japan Foundation/Asia Center, for the Sri Lankan Film Festival. Film Viragaya screened.
As Organiser/Curator/Juror 1989. October, curated and presented a Retrospective of Bergman Films in Colombo, in collaboration with the Swedish Film Institute, Stockholm, and the Swedish Embassy, Colombo. 1990. Director, South Asian Documentary and Short Film Festival, Colombo. Sponsored by the International Centre for Ethnic Studies. 2002. April/May. Jury Member, International Film Festival, Kerala.
1972-1980. Film Director; Government Film Unit. 1999 August – 2001 December; Chairman/CEO, National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka 2004, July. Assumed duties as Director, Sri Lanka Television training Institute. Position being still held. 2004. Appointed Board Member, Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation. 2005, August. Appointed Member of the Governing Council for the University of Visual & Performing arts, Sri Lanka. 2005, September, Appointed Member of National Heritage Trist of Sri Lanka. 2006, July. Appointed Member Boards of Study of the National Centre for advanced Studies.
He and his wife Asanka have two children, Svetlana Kamalochini and Dimitra Amithodana. He has another three daughters Aparna Nirmohi, Noriko Maduwanthi, Charulatha Swethambari, from his previous marriage. He has briefly mentiond the Children's names in his Book "Ayale Giya Sithaka Satahan" (Memoirs of a wondering Mind)
Tissa Abeysekara died on April 18, 2009 at Colombo National Hospital after having been admitted in the Coronary Care Unit for a heart condition (Myocardial infarction) which was treated for. And on the scheduled day for Tissa To be taken home he complained of what to him was a Sever headache to which the doctors gave no attention having only treated him with asprin until the relevant Doctor was to discharge him so he could be taken to the Neuro Department, Tissa Condition had worsened within a matter of hours and all though his wife had requested the doctors immediate attention and priority to be given the relevant Heart surgeon was to arrive almost 7 hours late and after having rushed tissa to the Neuro surgical intensive care unit it was assessed that a delay in bringing him had caused one third the brain space to be filled with blood causing immense pressure to build up in the left sector of his brain (a sudden Cerebral hemorrhage) also killing one 1/3 of the cells, two surgeries were conducted and it was re-assessed that the chances in Tissa making it would be slimmer than 1% and if he did no one was to know the condition he would be in...at 5.55PM on April 18 Tissa was pronounced dead, in a short time span of under 1/2 an hour this news was to reach expatriate friends and Family via the media...Tissa's loss was to be grieved by both local and international communities in the fields of Film, Music, Literature, Art and Politics his absence has been described by many as "The void that he has left can only be understood if one looks at a washed away painting and understands and realizes that its beauty can never be glorified or recreated again"[3] A Service of Remembrance for him was held at the Chapel of the Hope of the World, Ladies' College, Colombo, on May 7, 2009. A memorial service was held at the Chapel of the Hope of the World, Ladies' college Colombo7, to commemorate his one year death anniversary.[4]
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