PRADEEPAN RAVEENDRAN
Director / Writer / Producer
Biography :
Pradeepan Raveendran was born in Sri Lanka in July 1981. He is a self-taught photographer and filmmaker.
Pradeepan's first directorial debut was in 2009 with the short film ''A Mango Tree in the Front Yard''. This film was an official selection at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival in 2009 and subsequently nominated for a Golden Bear. His second short film ''Shadows of Silence'' was completed in 2010. This film premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2010, as part of its prestigious ‘Director’s Fortnight’, dedicated to honoring alternative and independent films globally.
Both films continue to be screened at various film festivals throughout the world. He founded the 'Exil Image' in 2008, The above films are produced through this production. Pradeepan has been living in Paris, France since 2004.
Filmography :
A MANGO TREE IN THE FRONT YARD
11min / 2009 / France - Sri Lanka / Tamil with English subtitles / DVC Pro 50
In 2009 Pradeepan completed his first short film called “A Mango Tree in the Front Yard”, about the daily life of 3 small children in the war-torn North of Sri Lanka. The film, described as ‘spare and haunting’, highlighted the heartbreaking conflict between their precious dreams and the perpetual violence, explicit and implicit, which surrounds them. The film became recognized as a treatise against both war and those who perpetrate war, including child soldier recruitment.
Awards: “A Mango Tree in the Front Yard” was an official selection at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival in 2009 and subsequently nominated for a Golden Bear. The film was also selected to screen at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, as well as many other international film festivals.
11min / 2010 / France - Sri Lanka / Tamil with English subtitles / RED ONE 4K
In 2010, Pradeepan completed his second short film called “Shadows of Silence”, about the life in exile of a family man with three small children and one wife. This story picks up on an earlier theme of Pradeepan’s work on the border-life of refugees. The film is a deeply felt look at the personal torment of an exile and the permanent presence of pain and alienation in the depths of his heart. It shows how his bleak dreams and illusions echo instead the profound isolation of a shattered mind, driving him to contemplate ending his life.
Awards: “Shadows of Silence” premiered at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2010, as part of its prestigious ‘Director’s Fortnight’, dedicated to honouring alternative and independent film globally. It is due to be screened at many more festivals in 2010 and 2011.