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Showing posts from July, 2017

Prasanna...always so tolerant

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Prasanna as many of us will remember him

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Prasanna managed to pack more than most into his sadly brief 44 yrs

Prasanna managed to pack more than most into his sadly brief 44 years. Although I only knew him for a short time, he had a lot of stories to tell, which went far beyond the valuable insights he shared about life in Sri Lanka. From growing up during an intense armed conflict, the challenges of working as a film maker amid the aftermath of natural disasters, to jazz, cinema or the best way to cook Sri Lankan cuisine, Prasanna was a complex character with a unique take on things and many friends around the world. He will be missed, may he rest in peace. All the best, Tim. Tim Molyneux Programme Manager – Child Rights

Seasons – a few selective memories of Prasanna

Seasons – a few selective memories of Prasanna Spring I first met Prasanna in in the 1990s when I was a researcher at the Social Scientists Association (SSA) in Colombo. At that time he was working on a project about caste issues. I remember going to Summer Gardens one evening– a café where you could sip a Lion lager and chat over 'bites'.   We talked about the problems of a majoritarian state and the politics of amnesia surrounding the JVP insurgency and other dark periods of Sri Lankan history. We also talked about postcolonial writers like Fanon and failures of Empire worldwide. Our chats weren't just about politics - Prasanna shared his early love of cinema with memories of seeing French new wave films at the Alliance Francaise down Barnes Place.   His knowledge of world cinema was inspired, he said, by one of the Directors of SSA, Charlie Abeysekera. In those days Sri Lanka was going through a period of possibility.   President Chandrika Band...

Short video clip, made by Prasanna

I am sending a short video clip, made by Prasanna, with our deepest sympathy, as you remember Prasanna. ​Prasanna  as a resource person, of the workshop on short filmmaking. We would like to  thank to him, for fullest support given to Svavisthri National Women's Movement in Sri Lanka'. Another video made by Prasanna about Savisthri is 33 minute. Thanks, Padma and Savisthri team.

You had been like a big brother and a mentor to me

Cinarama has left a new comment on your post "We all join in greatly mourning your passing Prasa...": My dear friend Prasanna who has suddenly passed away. I was thinking about you still this morning so it feels surreal that you just 'died', just like that. You had been like a big brother and a mentor to me, always encouraging me to develop my ideas. You believed in me and sought to help me when so many in the film industry had turned their back on giving me any sort of help before and after I graduated. I shall miss your kindness, your smile and I know that you will be missed by so many people you helped. Sleep well, dear friend. Until we meet again Posted by Cinarama to  Prasanna Ratnayake July 16, 2017 at 2:36 PM

Two short videos made by Prasanna

Mudumai Kolem (2017) by Shash Trevett, was one of the winners of his poetry competition. Prepared for Amnesty: the Trincomalee (2016) was for the 10th anniversary of the massacre.

It is with great sadness...

Prasanna Ratnayake 1972-2017 It is with great sadness that we report the sudden death of radical filmmaker Prasanna Ratnayake. Prasanna, from Sri Lanka, had worked in the UK since 2006 (as and when the Home Office’s rigid rules allowed), until he was finally able to settle here in 2014 with his wife Margaret Henry. Prasanna had been the Institute of Race Relations’ unofficial media man. Amongst the projects he did for the IRR was re-mastering our four films, ‘ Struggles for Black Community ’ (directed by Colin Prescod and produced by Margaret Henry), so they could be available on DVD. He also produced a DVD, ’Catching history on the wing’, of conversations with IRR’s Director Emeritus, A. Sivanandan. Prasanna, a Sinhalese, shared with Siva, a Tamil, a deep hatred of communalism and state violence in their native Sri Lanka and they were firm friends. His story in Groundviews Link   revealed how the 10-year-old boy had been deeply affected by the anti-Tamil riots of 1983....

Prasanna as we'll always remember him

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Reflective Prasanna

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We all join in greatly mourning your passing Prasanna and to celebrate your life

I was hugely shocked to learn last week of the sudden passing of my good friend Prasanna Ratnayake.  We had worked on many Sri Lankan projects together and he'd introduced me to so many interesting people and fascinating places.  Prasanna had a wonderful eclectic mind and an inquisitive nature. He rejoiced in fruity red wine, good coffee and endless discussions on art, theatre, cinema. He had a passionate interest in understand conflict, in exploring opportunities for peaceful coexistence and listening to people's own often painful stories.   I'm sure this is what many of us will really remember him for, namely helping others tell their story. He was a person of insight and passion, but threaded through this was immense humour and humanity.   We all join in greatly mourning your passing Prasanna and to celebrate your life. Please feel welcome to contribute to this blog to allow all those who knew and loved Prasanna to rejoice and celebr...

Hearing of your passing yesterday came as quite a shock

Dear Prasanna,  Hearing of your passing yesterday came as quite a shock ... It was absolutely the last thing I was expecting!  I will miss our long, and often intense, conversations about politics, art, music, Sri Lanka, and pretty much anything else that was going.  When we last spoke, in London, last December, your passion for the South Sudan project you were working on was quite infectious.  You were always fun, and I always got a kick out of your mischievous laugh.  Rest In Peace! Love Andrew