Sam’s Story at New York Film Fest

Sri Lankan-Canadian producer/director  Priyankara Vittanachchi’s film “Sam’s Story” has been selected for screening at the New York City International Film Festival while talented actor Jagath Chamila has been nominated in the Best Actor category.

It is the debut feature of UCLA-qualified,Vittanachchi   who shot the film entirely in Sri Lanka.  It had its world premiere at the SAFF Vancouver last year. The New York City International Film festival will be held from June 13 to June 20.

Based on the critically acclaimed book of the same name written by Capt. Elmo Jayawardena that won the Gratiaen Prize* in 2001, (founded by the Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist Michael Ondaatje,) the book was also listed for the 2002 Dublin Literary Award. The book gained instant popularity in Australia, New Zealand and other countries.

Sam (Jagath Chamila) is a poor, mentally challenged boy from a Sri Lankan village. Despite being an outsider, his innocence and dreams keep him going. He finds work at the “River House” where his sympathetic employer and family make him content. There are tensions however with two other servants who side with the Tamil Tiger guerilla movement. When his employer is killed, Sam has to go back to the hardships of his village and after a lapse of time, someone appears, to change Sam’s life again.

Six years in the making, Priyankara Vittanachchi has created an unforgettable character in Sam. Being mentally-challenged we sense Sam’s daily tensions as an outsider to life in Sri Lanka, a land divided by political tensions, and a life cut loose from the normal protective ties.

Shot in the exquisite Sri Lankan countryside with a cast of talented actors,  Vittanachchi remarks “Society sees Sam as a fool who doesn’t understand the world around him; one who finds no answers and explanations. The movie has a sense of humour and sadness – a mixture stemming from the complex character of Sam - a perceptive fool, a wise simpleton”.