Award-winning wildlife documentary to be screened

‘The Great Elephant Gathering of Asia’, Dilum Alagiyawanna’s documentary which won the Best Animal Behaviour Award at the 13th Japan Wildlife Film Festival in Tokyo in April, is the first ever international award for a wildlife documentary film produced by a Sri Lankan.

This film will be screened for the public by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society (WNPS) at 10.30 a.m. next Sunday (August 5) at the Cinema Hall of the National Film Corporation, on Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7.

Referring to the Japan Wildlife Film Festival, Dilum says that there are only three major festivals in the world, with the others being the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in America and the Wildscreen Festival in the United Kingdom. The film on ‘The Gathering’ was shortlisted from 208 productions from over 40 countries and was among the 31 nominated for the final round.

The film has also been accorded the ‘Official Selection’ honour at the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival in New York in 2016.

Currently, Dilum is seeking a sponsor who would help put out a combo pack, a collector’s item fit for anyone including royalty. It is to be a two-in-one Limited Edition Coffee Table Book and Documentary Film -- BluRay+DVD Combo Pack on ‘The Great Elephant Gathering of Asia’ in a hard cover with thumb cuts at the edge and embossed elephants seeming as if they are walking out of the pack.

The production partners are the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) and Dilum’s company, Ceylon Sights Private Limited.