Boodee Keerthisena
Encyclopedia
Vishvanath Buddhika Keerthisena, also known as Boodee Keerthisena is an award winning Sri Lankan filmmaker. He is well known as an artist began his career with drawing comics. Quietly he moved into painting, dress designing and visual arts and into music in the late 80s. He performed in a band called "Boo-Dee and the Woo-Zees" ( 1986–1992 ) as the lead singer.
In 1987, he went to New York to study film. After a year in Adelphi University
in Long Island
, he transfered to study at the School of Visual Arts
in Manhattan. For his graduation in 1995, he presented his feature film "Veils of Maya" (Sihina Deshayen - 1993 ) as his thesis. The film won 31 awards in many festivals including best director and best film.
In 1997 he started shooting "Buongiorno Italia" (Mille Soya) and completed its shooting in Sri Lanka and Italy with a crew from 8 different countries. The film was released in 2004 and was in 16 festivals and won 15 awards including best picture and best director.
In 2008 he co-wrote the screenplay and directed "Alone in A Valley" (Nimnayaka Hudakalawa).
From 2009-2010 he directed "Matha", a film based on the largest humanitarian rescue in the recent history of the world. The film is currently in post production.
Since he got back to Sri Lanka in 1995, he has directed and produced over 100 TV commercials, more than 30 documentaries, Two TV series and many music videos.
His work is influenced by John Cassavetes
and contains elements of "cinema-verite" style.
Director, Production Designer & Co – music composer of 35mm feature film “The Veils of Maya”: A story based around a theater group whose production of a colonial play is interrupted by the death of one its members by a bomb planted on a bus by ethnic separatist terrorists. From the other side of death he reveals to the viewer the story of what happened to him. The film won 31 awards, production in Sri Lanka 1996.
Director, Editor of the 16mm half an hour short film “Redeem”. The film is about the uprising of a socialist group who aimed to over throw the government, how the university students were affected by it and the unrest that the normal people of the country had to go through. Production Sri Lanka 1989.
Developed, Writer, Director and Cinematographer of “Sathya” a 20 part action thriller series. Production 2002.
Developed, directed and produced 24 episode series “Bakkannila”. A comedy talk show with local celebrities along the lines of David Letterman/Jay Leno. 1997-2000.
Producer, 2550 year Vesak celebration in Sri Lanka. This is a documentary on a village family who comes to the city to see the Vesak day celebrations and having to go through the tension and heavy security threats of bomb scares. (1 x 54) 2006
Director, Producer of half hour 30 episode TV series “Paata Paata” on the use of color in the architecture of Sri Lanka. Production 2001.
Director Sri Lanka a short documentary made for the Sri Lankan Tourist Board to be aired and shown for promotional work around the world. Production 2000.
Director of corporate documentary made for Sri Lanka Telecom for internet and video conferencing. Production 1999.
Director “Brain Drain” a half hour program on valuable individuals leaving the island to live elsewhere.
Director “Women in the free trade Zone” A half hour documentary on women workers of Sri Lanka looking at the hardships in their lives. Production 1996.
Director, Editor Co-producer” Late 20th Century opera composers” Interviews include Philip Glass, Allen Ginsburg and John Moran 1996.
Director “Illegally Legal”. Half hour documentary about Sri Lanka who are illegally crossing to Italy and how they become legal. Their account of how it feels to be in between two countries.
recipient 2005 for the feature film (Mille Soya)“Buongiorno Italia”.
Best Director, writer SIGNIS, Sarasavi and National awards recipient of 2005 for the feature film (Mille Soya) “Buongiorno Italia”.
Best Director – Co-Composer, Production Designer, seven awards including two FIPRSCI received in 1997, Two gold two silver and one bronze awards were received for TV Commercials by (SLIM Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing. Awards were received in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2001.
“24 Hours in Sri Lanka” - An NIB Officer who is married to a Tamil woman, father of two children is given a tip that there is a bomb about to go off and he is in search of the bomb to dismantle it. 2006.
“Bloodline” – Action adventure of a young boy who accidentally travel through time to the past, and then back to the future and travels back to the past to set things right by what went wrong because of his intervene in the past. 2006.
“ 7 7 7 ” – A man finds a box with a head of a young girl and the special agents are looking for the owner of the head. 2004 (Adaptation of a 1934 novel)
“Pale Blue” – Two friends who is working for a underground god father who is funded by politicians, are struggling through the friendship, loyalty and love coming in-between their friendship. 1997.
“Children of a Silent Age” – Story of two kids who were adopted from Sri Lanka by foster parents in northern and southern Europe, and comes down to find out their biological parents and the difficulties they go through.
Writes a column for the national newspaper Sunday Observer from 2009 to 2010
Was the Director of Galle Film Festival in 2008
Teaches film and television editing at the National Film Corporation for Diploma and Certificate courses. 2006/2005
Visiting Lecturer in Cinema for University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka for one Year in 1997 .
Director of Film & TV Department of Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts in Sri Lanka,
From 1996 to 1998.
In 1987, he went to New York to study film. After a year in Adelphi University
Adelphi University
Adelphi University is a private, nonsectarian university located in Garden City, in Nassau County, New York, United States. It is the oldest institution of higher education on Long Island. For the sixth year, Adelphi University has been named a “Best Buy” in higher education by the Fiske Guide to...
in Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, he transfered to study at the School of Visual Arts
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts , is a proprietary art school located in Manhattan, New York City, and is widely considered to be one of the leading art schools in the United States. It was established in 1947 by co-founders Silas H. Rhodes and Burne Hogarth as the Cartoonists and Illustrators School and...
in Manhattan. For his graduation in 1995, he presented his feature film "Veils of Maya" (Sihina Deshayen - 1993 ) as his thesis. The film won 31 awards in many festivals including best director and best film.
In 1997 he started shooting "Buongiorno Italia" (Mille Soya) and completed its shooting in Sri Lanka and Italy with a crew from 8 different countries. The film was released in 2004 and was in 16 festivals and won 15 awards including best picture and best director.
In 2008 he co-wrote the screenplay and directed "Alone in A Valley" (Nimnayaka Hudakalawa).
From 2009-2010 he directed "Matha", a film based on the largest humanitarian rescue in the recent history of the world. The film is currently in post production.
Since he got back to Sri Lanka in 1995, he has directed and produced over 100 TV commercials, more than 30 documentaries, Two TV series and many music videos.
His work is influenced by John Cassavetes
John Cassavetes
John Nicholas Cassavetes was an American actor, screenwriter and filmmaker. He acted in many Hollywood films, notably Rosemary's Baby and The Dirty Dozen...
and contains elements of "cinema-verite" style.
Filmography
Director, Writer “Buongiorno Italia” (Mille Soya): a 35mm feature film about a group of young Sri Lankan Musicians illegally migrating to Italy in the baggage compartment of a bus. The film articulates the lost dreams of Sri Lankan Youth that are caught between a civil war and corrupt politics and follows through their journey into hope, Sri Lanka / Italy production 2003. The film won 16 awards including best film, director, editor & art director SIGNIS awards 2005.Director, Production Designer & Co – music composer of 35mm feature film “The Veils of Maya”: A story based around a theater group whose production of a colonial play is interrupted by the death of one its members by a bomb planted on a bus by ethnic separatist terrorists. From the other side of death he reveals to the viewer the story of what happened to him. The film won 31 awards, production in Sri Lanka 1996.
Director, Editor of the 16mm half an hour short film “Redeem”. The film is about the uprising of a socialist group who aimed to over throw the government, how the university students were affected by it and the unrest that the normal people of the country had to go through. Production Sri Lanka 1989.
TV Series
Director, Producer on “Fords Super Model of the year” reality TV show directed, and produced to be aired in Sri Lanka October/November 2007.Developed, Writer, Director and Cinematographer of “Sathya” a 20 part action thriller series. Production 2002.
Developed, directed and produced 24 episode series “Bakkannila”. A comedy talk show with local celebrities along the lines of David Letterman/Jay Leno. 1997-2000.
TV Commercials
Shot and directed over 120 TV Commercials during the period from 1996 to December 2001. Some of the brand names include. HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation) Bata, Caltex, Eveready Batteries & Nestle Products.Documentaries
Producer, Vanishing Paradise is a documentary on a foreigner who hunted and killed 1400 elephants for his fun during the British colonial time. He was killed by a lighting strike and his grave was struck by lighting for three times. (1 x 54) 2006Producer, 2550 year Vesak celebration in Sri Lanka. This is a documentary on a village family who comes to the city to see the Vesak day celebrations and having to go through the tension and heavy security threats of bomb scares. (1 x 54) 2006
Director, Producer of half hour 30 episode TV series “Paata Paata” on the use of color in the architecture of Sri Lanka. Production 2001.
Director Sri Lanka a short documentary made for the Sri Lankan Tourist Board to be aired and shown for promotional work around the world. Production 2000.
Director of corporate documentary made for Sri Lanka Telecom for internet and video conferencing. Production 1999.
Director “Brain Drain” a half hour program on valuable individuals leaving the island to live elsewhere.
Director “Women in the free trade Zone” A half hour documentary on women workers of Sri Lanka looking at the hardships in their lives. Production 1996.
Director, Editor Co-producer” Late 20th Century opera composers” Interviews include Philip Glass, Allen Ginsburg and John Moran 1996.
Director “Illegally Legal”. Half hour documentary about Sri Lanka who are illegally crossing to Italy and how they become legal. Their account of how it feels to be in between two countries.
Awards
Best Director Presidential AwardPresidential Film Awards
Presidential Film Awards is a film award ceremony held in Sri Lanka. It is organized by the National Film Corporation along with the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.-Best Playback Singer :...
recipient 2005 for the feature film (Mille Soya)“Buongiorno Italia”.
Best Director, writer SIGNIS, Sarasavi and National awards recipient of 2005 for the feature film (Mille Soya) “Buongiorno Italia”.
Best Director – Co-Composer, Production Designer, seven awards including two FIPRSCI received in 1997, Two gold two silver and one bronze awards were received for TV Commercials by (SLIM Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing. Awards were received in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2001.
Screenplays yet to be produced
Writer of six feature film screenplays and a detective thriller 20 episode TV series.“24 Hours in Sri Lanka” - An NIB Officer who is married to a Tamil woman, father of two children is given a tip that there is a bomb about to go off and he is in search of the bomb to dismantle it. 2006.
“Bloodline” – Action adventure of a young boy who accidentally travel through time to the past, and then back to the future and travels back to the past to set things right by what went wrong because of his intervene in the past. 2006.
“ 7 7 7 ” – A man finds a box with a head of a young girl and the special agents are looking for the owner of the head. 2004 (Adaptation of a 1934 novel)
“Pale Blue” – Two friends who is working for a underground god father who is funded by politicians, are struggling through the friendship, loyalty and love coming in-between their friendship. 1997.
“Children of a Silent Age” – Story of two kids who were adopted from Sri Lanka by foster parents in northern and southern Europe, and comes down to find out their biological parents and the difficulties they go through.
Special
Boodee currently works with company "Elephant and the mouse" with lots of VFX as a Visual Effects Supervisor to his films as well as other's movies.Writes a column for the national newspaper Sunday Observer from 2009 to 2010
Was the Director of Galle Film Festival in 2008
Teaches film and television editing at the National Film Corporation for Diploma and Certificate courses. 2006/2005
Visiting Lecturer in Cinema for University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka for one Year in 1997 .
Director of Film & TV Department of Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts in Sri Lanka,
From 1996 to 1998.
External links
- http://www.asiaticafilmmediale.it/2001/uk2001/directors/keerthisena.html
- http://www.linkedin.com/in/boodee
- http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/aug2005/mill-a24.shtml
- http://www.millesoya.com/main.html
- http://www.millesoya.com/cb/productions.html
- http://sundaytimes.lk/031005/tv/11.htm
- http://pipl.com/directory/name/Deshapriya/Channa
- http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2005/12/25/fea37.html
- http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2009/08/30/mon03.asp
- http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2008/08/31/imp09.asp
- http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2009/08/02/mon10.asp
- http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2009/08/16/mon15.asp