Queen of the Silver Screen commends tele cine inventor

Saturday, 26 July 2014 04:17 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Bv Dushantha Gunaratne The Queen of the Silver Screen and Parliamentarian Dr. Malini Fonseka emphasised the need to recognise and encourage local artistes and cinema technologists who are capable of giving international boost to local cinema. Fonseka’s comments came when Palitha Silva presented her with copies of old Sinhala films restored by him using his tele cine equipment, the first-ever local instrument that could convert 35 mm cinema reels to suit modern digital systems.

Palitha, 54, has an inborn talent to design rare cinema equipment. As a student at Ragama M/V, he first made a projector using available cost-free material. This time Fonseka commended him for his success and achievement by turning out tele cine equipment to restore damaged old Sinhala films, converting such 35 mm films for televising (TV scanning). Palitha has incurred only Rs. 100,000 to produce this equipment which costs nearly Rs. 5 million in the global market. Among his major restoration work Palitha had restored ‘Bambaru Evith’ and ‘Nidhanaya’, for which Malini Fonseka was presented with a special award at the 16th Deauville Asian Film Festival held in France, early this year. Fonseka gave an assurance that she would seek President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s patronage to find a better opening for locally talented artistes of the calibre of Palitha for archive programs.