The National Film Corporation in collaboration with the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry of Mass Media is all set to host the first-ever National Youth Film Festival.
The festival is planned to take place throughout the month of August and various enticing events including panel discussions and master classes on cinema, short film and feature-length film screenings, and finally an award ceremony for the National short film competition are planned to occur at the festival.
The film festival will be a celebration of Sri Lankan cinema and a wholesome initiative to appreciate local cinema while encouraging the youth of the country to contribute to it. Starting this year, the “National Youth Film Festival” will be held every year. This event aims to revitalize Sri Lankan cinema by inspiring and showcasing the various viewpoints and views of our gifted young filmmakers. Despite numerous obstacles, Sri Lanka’s young filmmakers are passionate about telling “Our Original Stories” in short films.
Speaking of the event, the National Coordinator for the National Youth Film Festival Mahela Hettiarachchi said that this is an initiative planned to get the youth excited about a career in film. “One of the main things we have noticed in Sri Lankan cinema is that it lacks commercial original stories and we want people to express themselves and tell their own stories through film. This is why our Short film festival is named ‘Our Original Stories’, we want to create a generation of storytellers.”
The short film festival contains two age categories: school (ages 15 to 19) and open (ages 20 to 30) and both individual and group submissions are accepted. While the short film festival commenced on the 15th of May 2023 it will accept entries till the 31st of July 2023. If you are interested, submit your short film through the National Youth Film Festival website - nyffsl.lk.
