President to open Ranmihitenne Tuesday

President to open Ranmihitenne Tuesday
Ruwini JAYAWARDANA
The opening of the Mahinda Rajapaksa Tele-cinema Village, Ranmihithenne, will take place on March 30 at 4.30 p.m. Around 450 artistes will take part in the function which will take the form of an appreciation ceremony for President Mahinda Rajapaksa for his service to the industry.
The ceremony also marks the completion of the first phase of the tele-cinema village which began work on October 30, 2008, in a 235 acre land in Tissamaharama. The construction process is funded by the revenue from the taxes imposed on foreign teledramas, films and advertisements imported by local television channels.
Around Rs. 600 million had been used for the first phase while it is estimated that another Rs. 600 million will be used for the second phase. Two teams will be able to shoot inside the buildings at the same time while another two will be able to do their shooting outdoors simultaneously. There will be accommodation facilities for 96 artistes and film crew.
Art Director Errol Kelly had designed the sets. The project is supervised by the Mass Media and Information Ministry. Senior artistes Ravindra Randeniya and Dr. D.B. Nihasingha are its consultants.
“Though this had been a most urgent need in the past nobody had any faith in past governments to deliver on this mammoth task. President Rajapaksa noted this and came up with the concept so that film and teledrama makers will be able to utilize the village to make creations of international standards using the latest technological devices under one roof at a low production cost,” Randeniya said.
He also added that the tele-cinema village had opened doors to the international arena as some filmmakers have made inquiries to shoot their movies at the location.
A logo had also been chosen for the tele-cinema village after the team had called for designs. Out of around 40 designs Dayaratne Palliyaguruge’s creation had been chosen as the logo.
The tele-cinema village is expected to be completed in three stages. The rough estimation of the cost stands at Rs. two billion. Work is expected to be completed in 2011.