High School Junkies

High School Junkies is a film production company led by Akash Sunethkumara. Founding members include Kasun Rathnasiri, Shenic Tissera and Stefania Perera [1].

High School Junkies
IndustryMotion pictures
Founded2015
FounderAkash Sk
Headquarters
Sri Lanka
Key people
Akash Sk
Kasun Rathnasiri
Stefania Perera
Shenic Tissera
Websitewww.highschooljunkies.com

History

The team was created in 2015 by Akash Sunethkumara who needed a crew to work on a short film for a module in his Masters' program [1]. The team was formed entirely from high school friends, based in Negombo Sri Lanka and their first production was the unreleased Star_Crossed.

In 2016, the team worked on EIDETIC, a story about a girl with total recall of her sensory memory (an ‘eidetic’), who is blackmailed into locating another eidetic in order to save her terminally ill mother until she discovers that the man she hunts has a far deeper connection to her [2]. The film became Sunethkumara's Masters' thesis project and was subsequently screened at film festivals worldwide including Raindance and was the first Sri Lankan film to be screened at San Diego Comic-Con's Independent Film Festival in 2017[3].

In 2018, the team then decided to move away from action and tackle the horror genre and began working on The Summoning, a 14-minute short that drew inspiration from real life experiences. The filmmakers cite the Raimi-era of horror movies as an influence on the short film[4]. The team spent 9 months working on this project and it was finally released on Halloween 2018 at the National Film Corporation. The film received praise for its production value and the intricate details within the movie. The Summoning went on to be screened at multiple other festivals and also became the second Sri Lankan film accepted into San Diego Comic-Con's Independent Film Festival [5].

In 2019, the Junkies created a 3 minute ultra-short follow up to The Summoning, called The Friend [6] which was published on Crypt TV, marking another first for Sri Lanka [7]. They are also in the process of working on their first feature [8].

The Junkies use minimal equipment and shoestring budgets.[9].

Productions
Year Title Notes
2015 Star Crossed Completed but unreleased
2016 EIDETIC First Sri Lankan short film accepted in San Diego Comic-Con's Independent Film Festival
2017 The Case Unreleased
2018 The Summoning Second Sri Lankan short film accepted in San Diego Comic-Con's Independent Film Festival
2019 The Friend Ultra short film
2020 The Knight Out

Additionally, the High School Junkies have also worked on a music video, titled Rise Up on behalf of renowned Sri Lankan-born LA-bred record producer Ruwanga Samath [10].

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gollark: Rust types are Turing complete too!
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References
  1. "This time it's horror: High School Junkies strike again". The Sunday Times Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  2. JAYAWARDANA, Ruwini. "Screams on screens!". Daily News. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  3. "Independent horror film 'The Summoning' by High School Junkies to premiere today". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  4. admin (2018-10-23). ""The Summoning" – An independent horror film by High School Junkies". Colombo Gazette. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  5. "The Summoning". High School Junkies. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  6. "The High School Junkies Have A Short Film Out". Decibel. 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  7. THE FRIEND | Featured Creature | Short Film, retrieved 2019-08-30
  8. Wirasinha, Harith (2019-07-10). "The Summoning of Some Epic Cinema – High school Junkies and Their Amazing Story". Pulse. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  9. "The Summoning – a testament to clever filmmaking". The Morning - Sri Lanka News. 2018-11-04. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  10. "Sinclair – Rise Up (Official Video)". Decibel. 2018-10-02. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
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