Sri Lanka prepares to host more international films

• SLTPB says it is eyeing a strategic film tourism plan

By Pranavesh Sivakumar

Sri Lanka is positioning itself to capitalise on the growing global demand for film tourism, but infrastructure and technology must be upgraded to compete internationally, Assistant Director, International Media at the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB), Chaminda Munasinghe said.

Speaking at a media briefing held to announce Oscar-nominated filmmaker Deepa Mehta’s fourth project to be shot in the country, he said Sri Lanka possesses the compactness, waterfalls, mountains, and other qualities essential for film tourism.

However, he acknowledged that while the country’s natural attributes are strong, Sri Lanka currently falls short in infrastructure and technology. To address this gap, discussions are underway with the National Film Corporation to formalise a partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate more closely.

In the last few months, a couple of South Indian films were shot in Colombo and Galle. Now, Oscar-winning director Deepa Mehta’s next project, Sher, becomes the third in quick succession.

Munasinghe stressed that for the country to be promoted and recognised as a film destination, a strategic plan is needed.

“We are working on this right now. We must recognise international film production as an industry; we must facilitate them just like any other organisation. 

 Meaning, registration, providing incentive support, technological support – all these are supposed to be given to the industry, which we have not done in the last 30-40 years,” he explained.

He also added that the SLTPB has been promoting the island, particularly to India, aggressively, as well as targeting the Western world.

“We’ve been promoting Sri Lanka, specifically for India aggressively and then the Europe market, mainly targeting the United Kingdom. For the last 5-6 years, we have been continuously participating for film locations,” he added.