Private Project

Beef

Rasika is a person who lost his legs in an accident and became disabled. He lives alone in his house in an apartment complex. He gets his food by ordering from outside and bringing it to his home. Due to intense loneliness and unsatisfied desires, he has to resort to criminal activities to escape his loneliness and satisfy those desires. This will completely change his life and the lives of others around him.

  • Hasantha Prabhoothi Dissanayake
    Director
    Mutton
  • Hasantha Prabhoothi Dissanayake
    Writer
    Mutton
  • Srimal Wickremasinghe
    Producer
  • Chinthaka Dumith Bandara
    Director of Photography
    Mutton
  • Hasitha Prabhath
    Editor
  • Lakmal Sandaruwan
    Production Designer
  • Kaushika Lakshani
    Costume Designer
  • Yashodha Nuwansiri
    Makeup Artist
  • Sasika Ruwan Marasinghe
    Sound Designer
    Mutton
  • Ananda Bandara
    Colorist
    Mutton
  • Hasitha Prabhath
    Poster Designer
  • Ravishanka Gamage
    Assistant Director
  • Dhanushka Nilaweera
    Key Cast
    "Rasika"
  • Chamathka Lakmini
    Key Cast
    "Piyumi"
  • Sriya Danansooriya
    Key Cast
    "Uncle Magnus"
  • Sumeera Gunasekara
    Key Cast
    "Aruna"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Crime, Thriller, Drama
  • Runtime:
    31 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    July 8, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    4,500 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Sri Lanka
  • Country of Filming:
    Sri Lanka
  • Language:
    Sinhala
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:35.1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Hasantha Prabhoothi Dissanayake

Hasantha Dissanayake is a filmmaker from Sri Lanka. He graduated BA (Hons) in Film and Television with First Class from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. He has also received a Diploma in Filmmaking from the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. He was a fellow of the 2022 International Film Business Academy at Busan Asian Film School in South Korea. He is reading for his postgraduate degree in MA in Film and Television Production at the University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. He made several fiction short films and documentaries as a director, producer, and screenwriter. He has won several international awards for his short films, and he has participated in several international film festivals. He also worked as an assistant director in the Sri Lankan film industry. He is the founder, creative director, and creative producer of the film production company Prabhoothi Films. He is also a member of the New Asian Producers Network. He has worked as a visiting lecturer in several institutions of higher education in Sri Lanka and now works as a Film and Multimedia Studies Lecturer at NSBM Green University in Sri Lanka.

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Director Statement

Beef is a psychological crime thriller that centers on Rasika, a man who lost his legs in an accident and now lives alone in a small apartment. Cut off from the outside world, he survives through routine. Ordering food, watching old films, and slowly sinking into a life shaped by silence and unmet desires. As his loneliness intensifies, he begins making decisions that are dangerous, desperate, and ultimately irreversible.

At its heart, this film explores the quiet unraveling of a human being who feels forgotten. Rasika’s descent into criminal behavior is not born out of evil but out of emotional starvation. His actions are a cry for connection, for power, for some sense of existence in a world that no longer acknowledges him.

The apartment he lives in isn’t just a setting, it’s a character. It mirrors his internal state: confined, neglected, and quietly suffocating. Every corner holds a memory, every shadow reflects his isolation.

Rather than using a traditional score, I chose to build Rasika’s inner world using existing material. Classic Sinhala songs that speak of love, regret, and death, as well as fragments from Psycho and the iconic Sinhala film Dadayama. These aren't just references, they are extensions of Rasika’s mind, echoing his fractured emotions and shaping the film’s rhythm and tone.

The title Beef symbolizes raw violence and emotional intensity. Like the red meat it refers to, it reflects the blood, conflict, and brutality beneath the surface of the story.