Gamperaliya (film)

Gamperaliya (Changement au Village) ගම්පෙරලිය
DVD Cover
Directed byLester James Peries
Written byRegi Siriwardena
Produced byAnton Wickremasinghe
StarringHenry Jayasena
Punya Heendeniya
Wickrama Bogoda
Trilicia Gunawardena
CinematographyWilliam Blake
Edited bySumitra Gunawardana
Music byW.D. Amaradeva
Distributed byCinelanka Ltd.
Release date
  • 1963 (1963)
Running time
108 minutes
CountrySri Lanka
LanguageSinhala

Gamperaliya is a 1963 Sri Lankan drama film directed by Lester James Peries screenplay, dialogue and the script by Reggie Siriwardena and Tissa Abeysekara; it was adapted from the novel Gamperaliya by Martin Wickramasinghe.[1] The film starts ensemble cast of several eras together including, Henry Jayasena, Punya Heendeniya, Wickrama Bogoda, Trilicia Gunawardena and Gamini Fonseka.[2]

The film was groundbreaking in Sinhala cinema shot entirely outside of a studio using one lamp and hand held lights for lighting.[3] The movie exemplifies Peries's use of family tensions to symbolize wider issues.[3]

The film was internationally acclaimed, receiving the Golden Peacock (Best Film) at the 3rd International Film Festival of India and the Golden Head of Palenque in Mexico.[4] The film won the Best Director and Best Film awards at the 1965 Sarasaviya Film Festival.[3] It was entered into the 3rd Moscow International Film Festival.[5] It was shown in Cannes Film festival in May 2008 under the French title Changement au village under section 'Restored Classics'.[6] Subsequently it went out on general release in French cinemas. In 2001, the film was identified as a world heritage by Cinema Thek Institute (CTI) in France.[7]

  1. ^ ""Gamperaliya" to be saved at last". Sunday Times. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  2. ^ "All about the blockbuster film "Gamperaliya"". Sarasaviya. Retrieved 2021-01-23.
  3. ^ a b c "Filmography- 1960-1980". Lester James Peries. 2004. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  4. ^ "Untitled". National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-03-08. Retrieved 2007-04-17.
  5. ^ "3rd Moscow International Film Festival (1963)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2012-11-25.
  6. ^ "Restored 'Gamperaliya' honoured in Cannes". Sunday Times. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  7. ^ "'Gamperaliya': world heritage". Sunday Times. Retrieved 28 November 2019.