Akasa Kusum held its World Premiere on Sunday October 05th, 2008 in Pusan, with the film being exhibited in three different cinemas simultaneously. Director Prasanna Vithanage, who was in South Korea for the screenings, said the applause the film received was rapturous.The movie was screened to segmented audiences – with each cinema accommodating the general public, the critics and film festival directors.
Following the screening, Vithanage was part of a fruitful 30-minute Q&A session, with critics and festival personnel from all over the globe fielding their queries on the movie and its stars. Repeated acclaim emerged during these sessions for the strong central performance by Malini Fonseka, with the international media inquiring for more knowledge on the career of the Queen of Sri Lankan cinema, and her previous work.
The film also drew the attention of festival directors from the world over, with many film festivals requesting screener copies of the film for consideration. Akasa Kusum has also garnered the attention of a multitude of international festivals, including the Asiata Filmmediale in Rome, Italy, The Indian International Film Festival in Goa, the Kerala Film Festival, also in India, Palm Springs and Tiburon in the US, Granada in Spain and the Brisbane International Film Festival in Australia.
Akasa Kusum will next be screened on 25 October at the South Asian Film Festival in New York. The film will play at the AMC/LOEWS Theatre, on 890, Broadway and 19th Street at 3 p.m. Nimmi Harasgama will be present at the festival and will represent Sri Lanka at the festival.
