AMDT showcase 2017: A triumph for Sri Lanka’s creative industries

Anyone who walked into the Liberty Ballroom of The Ramada Colombo on 2nd of July could be forgiven for thinking they were at an international creative festival. The air was abuzz with excitement and energy. The students of the Academy of Multimedia Design Technology put on a showcase worthy of their hard honed skills in Design, Fashion, Photography, Filmmaking, Animation& Advertising. Sri Lanka’s biggest names in creative industries across entertainment, filmmaking, photography, advertising & marketing were there to grace the occasion and witness the work. The steady stream of people from creative industry professionals, students, parents and general public was testament to the anticipation that had been created and the inspiration that was presented.

The stage was set with the launch of ‘AMDT Artreprenuers’ - a platform for artistic entrepreneurs and creative professionals from diverse industries to share their ideas and inspire Sri Lanka. Famous Filmmaker, Entrepreneur, Screenwriter & Producer MrChandranRatnam, the Chief Guest, was visibly impressed by the quality of work on display. So much so that during his speech, he made a surprise offer of his production facilities, equipment & expertise to produce a film script of an AMDT student, at no cost whatsoever. Following the screening of short films by the students, ‘ACCORDING TO CHANDRAN’ an interactive session allowed the audience to pose their questions to MrRatnam. Many aspiring filmmakers and young creatives in the audience asked challeng- ing questions, leading to an exchange of ideas.

Sri Lanka’s first truly international enter tainment brand, Bathiya&Santhush - BNS inspired the audience with the story of how they turned their passion into their profession by combining their art with entrepreneurship. Their insightful revelations into much needed reforms of Sri Lanka’s intellectual property & copyright laws were an eye opener to the creative industry and younger generation on how to safeguard their creations from piracy.

ChanduRajapreyar, SugibanSathi yamoorthy&MihiraKulatunga; the ‘3 Mad Men’ moderated by AMDT faculty member Ralston Joseph, presented an entertaining and enlightening hour of ‘madness’, inspiring the young audience to pursue their mad ideas and also discussed the thinking behind some of their work.

‘ Fearless Girls’ saw two of AMDT’s star students, SajiniJayane tti& YasharaWickremasurendra fearlessly take the stage to converse with ad industry giants Alyna Haji Omar and Ruchi Sharma on the opportunities & challenges for women in creative industries. They related their own stories while Ruchi drew from her international experience to compare & contrast the situation in South Asia vis-a-vis the West. This session created a much needed conversation on gender equality.

‘SHOOT’ presented a rare opportunity for the audience to listen to Sri Lanka’s premier photographer LuxshmananNadarajah in conversation with veteran advertising Creat ive Directors Russell Miranda and SumindaGamage. AMDT faculty member Ralston Joseph conducted the conversation on the art of photography and the application of its fundamental principles in brand building and commercial filmmaking.

AMDT achieved the rare feat of bringing all these big names to one place during a single day of inspiration for creative industries. The generously gave of their knowledge and experience. The audience & students had the opportunity to engage freely and network with these top industry professionals.

The night ended on a high note with the AMDT Fashion Show, which saw Sri Lanka’s top models taking the ramp with the creations of AMDT’s graduating fashion design students.

AMDT has truly inspired Sri Lanka’s next generation of creative professionals to launch their creative careers.