The Hail
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People will cross our life even though they live completely outside of our realm
Project type: Fiction Feature
Project status: Development
Writer/Director/Producer: Lanka Bandaranayake
Producer: Iranthi Abesinghe
Cinematographer: Chandana Jayasinghe
Editor: Nanda Nandi Jayakody
Makeup Artist: Narada Thotagamuwa
Email: lanka.bcine@gmail.com
IMDB: Lanka Bandaranayake
Facebook: The Hail
Twitter: @LankaCine
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Logline
Three Sinhalese women in their 30s and their families, unknown to each other, are crossed with one another’s lives by suicide bomb blasts done by Muslim extremists but the tracking down of their lives reveals an entirely different story about them and their connection to the bomb blasts.
Synopsis
CHAMARI, NADEEKA and KAUSHALYA (three women around their 30s) and their families, unknown to each other, are connected to recent bomb blasts done by some Muslim extremist suicide bombers. CHAMARI, an award-winning stage actor, was arrested by the police as a suspect in the bomb blasts because of her photograph in which she posed herself with an ISIS terrorist. NADEEKA is compelled to give evidence to identify the suicide bomber who blasted himself in the hotel where NADEEKA is with a famous young actor, JANAKA. The army arrests KAUSHALYA while she is hiding in a discarded house and is forced to reveal the suspects by the government authority because her husband is the mastermind behind the bomb blasts.
Despite the fact that at this moment (Now) they are related to recent bomb blasts one way or another, the tracking down of their lives one hour ago, one day ago, one month ago, one year ago and ten years ago reveals completely a different story about them and their connection to the bomb blasts.
Meet the Filmmakers
Lanka Bandaranayake – Writer/Director
Lanka Bandaranayke, is an award-winning short film producer, director, writer, and theatre artist from Sri Lanka. Her first short film Tradition (2016) was screened in more than 50 international film festivals including Open Doors screenings at Locarno Film Festival in 2018. The film won several international and national awards. In 2020, Lanka made her short film Inheritance (2020) with the partnership of the British council Sri Lanka under the Female Filmmakers First program. Her short film Mahasona (2021) is selected for various film festivals including Tasveer South Asian Film Festival 2021 in Washington, USA and currently distributing on their TV platform.
She is also an award-winning theatre artist working in theatre for more than 25 years and has won significant national awards for both her performance and costume design in national state drama festivals. She was a jury and curator for fiction at the Sound & Image Challenge International Festival in 2018 and 2019 in Macau. She won two scholarships to study cinema at Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institution in India and for a Master’s in Directing Film and Television at Bournemouth University in the United Kingdom.
Iranthi Abesinghe – Producer
Iranthi is a highly sought-after local and international producer, executive producer and line producer who has worked with many acclaimed film directors of local and international repute in film and TV for the past twenty-five years. She recently worked as a line producer in Alborada (2020) directed by Asoka Handagama and The Children of the Sun (2019) directed by Prasanna Vithanage.
Chandana Jayasinghe – Cinematographer
Chandana Jayasinghe is an award-winning cinematographer from Sri Lanka. His films participated in many festivals including Rotterdam International Film Festival 2014 and Jogja-NETPAC Asian Film Festival 2022, and won several awards. He is known for films such as The Newspaper (2020), According to Mathew (2018) starring Jacqueline Fernandez and Alston Koch, 28 (2014), A Common Man (2013) starring Ben Kingsley.
Nanda Nandi Jayakody – Editor
Nanda Nandi Jayakody is a well-known editor and sound designer from Sri Lanka. She is having experience working with international film and teledrama series with well-known directors including her work in the sound department in Funny Boy (2020) by Deepa Mehta. Her recent films as an editor are Mahasona (2021), Kuweni (2018), Sinhaya (2016), Sinhawa Atharin (2015), Anagarika Dharmapala Srimathano (2014).
Narada Thotagamuwa – Makeup Artist
Narada Thotagamuwa is an award-winning make-up artist from Sri Lanka who is having experience working with over 25 movies, more than 20 TV series and short films. He obtained advanced training in Special Makeup effects from the Cinema Makeup School in Los Angeles, California. He has been working with award-winning films including The Frozen Fire (2018), According to Mathew (2018) starring Jacqueline Fernandez, Leopard Do Not Bite (2015), A Common Man (2013) starring Ben Kingsley, Alston Koch & Kian O’Grady, and Kandak Sema (Not yet released), a Japan and Sri Lanka co-production.
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Contact
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