Contents
Films produced in Sri Lanka in the 1940s.
Films produced in Sri Lanka in the 1940s.
| Title | Director | Cast | Genre | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | ||||||
| Kadawunu Poronduwa | Jyotish Sinha | Rukmani Devi, B. A. W. Jayamanne, Peter Peiris, Miriam Jayamanne, Hugo Fernando, Stanley Mallawarachchi, Eddie Jayamanne, Jemini Kantha | Drama | Screened on 21 January. First Sri Lankan Movie to be made in Sinhala language. | ||
| Asokamala | T. R. Gopu Shanthi Kumar | Shanthi Kumar, Emalin Dibulana, Michael Sannasliyanage, Herbie Seneviratne, Don Edward, Austin Abeysekera, Michael Rodrigo | Drama | Released on 10 April. | ||
| Title | Director | Cast | Genre | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | ||||||
| Kapati Arakshakaya | Jyotish Sinha K. Subramaniam | Christy De Mel, Rukmani Devi, Eddie Jayamanne, Bertram Fernando, Herbie Seneviratne, B. A. W. Jayamanne, Jemini Kantha | Thriller | Released on 23 February. | ||
| Divya Premaya | N. P. Javeri | Luman Rajapaksha, Srimathi Karunadevi, Robert Perera, Simon Silva, Peter Siriwardene | Romance | Released on 22 May. | ||
| Veradunu Kurumanama | Jyotish Sinha | B. A. W. Jayamanne, Rukmani Devi, Lalitha Kumari, Jemini Kantha, Herbie Seneviratne, Eddie Jayamanne, Bertram Fernando, B. S. Perera | Thriller | Released on 3 December. | ||
| Title | Director | Cast | Genre | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | ||||||
| Amma | Sirisena Wimalaweera | D.R. Nanayakkara, Pearl Vasudevi, Eddie Junior, N. R. Dias, S. H. Jothipala | Drama | Released on 19 August. | ||
| Peralena Iranama | Jyotish Sinha | Eddie Jayamanne, Rukmani Devi, Aruna Shanthi, Mark Samaranayake, Mabel Blythe | Drama | Released on 20 October. | ||
Sri Lanka, historically known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. It shares a maritime border with the Maldives in the southwest and India in the northwest.
Mass media of Sri Lanka consist of several different types of communications media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and Web sites. State and private media operators provide services in the main languages Sinhala, Tamil and English. The government owns two major TV stations, radio networks operated by the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC), and newspaper titles in Sinhala, Tamil, and English.
Sri Lankan cinema encompasses the Sri Lankan film industry. It is a fledgling industry that has struggled to find a footing since its inauguration in 1947 with Kadawunu Poronduwa produced by S. M. Nayagam of Chitra Kala Movietone. Sri Lankan films are usually made in Sinhala and Tamil, the dominant languages of the country.
Wanniarachchige Malini Senehelatha Fonseka, popularly known as Malini Fonseka is a Sri Lankan actress, theatre artist and a director. Often considered the "Queen of Sri Lankan Cinema", Fonseka first became widely known when she won the 'Best Actress Award' at the 1969 National State Drama Festival, followed by Sarasaviya Best Actress Awards for Hingana Kolla in 1980, Aradhana in 1982 andYasa Isuru in 1983.
Kumara Vidugalage Dona Geetha Samanmalee Kumarasinghe, popularly known as Geetha Kumarasinghe, is a Sri Lankan film actress and Member of a Parliament. She is the current State Minister of Women and Child Affairs.
Udaya Prasanna Vithanage is widely regarded as one of the most talented and influential filmmakers in South Asia. He is known for thought-provoking films that often deals with social, political and cultural issues. His films have received numerous awards accolades, both locally and internationally and have been praised for their innovative storytelling.
of release.
Mohammed Gauss also known as Mohamed Ghouse, was a Sri Lankan film music composer. His compositions for Sinhala cinema in the 1950s are credited by music critics as having been influential in developing a Sri Lankan style of film composition distinct from that of Indian films.
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Sumitra Peries was a Sri Lankan filmmaker. She was the first female film director from Sri Lanka. and was known as the "Poetess of Sinhala Cinema". She also held the post of Sri Lanka's ambassador to France, Spain and the United Nations in the late 1990s. Of her films the more popular ones are Gehenu Lamai, Ganga Addara and Yahaluvo. She was married to the most prolific Sri Lankan film director Dr. Lester James Peries.
Chandran Rutnam is a Sri Lankan filmmaker and entrepreneur.
Upeksha Swarnamali, popularly known as "Paba", is an actress in Sri Lankan cinema and television and a former member of the Sri Lanka Parliament. She gained popularity for her role on the television series "Paba" broadcast on Independent Television Network.
Dr. Diongu Badaturuge Nihalsingha was an accomplished Sri Lankan film director, cinematographer, editor, producer. He was noted for his versatility : as a film cameraman, as a film director, as a (pioneering) television director, as an administrator, and as a teacher. He is a pioneer who introduced professional television production to Sri Lanka, commencing with Sri Lanka's and South Asia's first color teledrama, Dimuthu Muthu. He was the founding Chief Executive Officer and General Manager of Sri Lanka's National Film Corporation and a distinguished alumni of the then University of Ceylon, Peradeniya. He is the only Sri Lankan who has been conferred Life Fellowship of the Society of Motion picture and Television Engineers USA, the oldest film organisation in the world, established in 1915. The Society determines film and television standards worldwide.
Deshabandu Tissa Ananda Abeysekara was a Sri Lankan filmmaker, actor, writer, director, screen playwright and political activist. He is better known as a script writer for the cinema as well as a film director. In 1996, his book Bringing Tony Home won the prestigious Gratiaen Prize for the new creative writing in English. He was the chief coordinator of FOSWAL in Sri Lanka and honoured awardee of SAARC Literary Award.
Sumithra Arachchige Don Bandula Chandrasiri Gunawardane is a Sri Lankan politician, teacher, and film producer, who is a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka for Colombo District, and a former government minister.
Sri Lankan Tamil cinema is a small filmmaking industry based in Sri Lanka, which has made under 100 Tamil language films as of 2013. it is separate from its Indian counterpart, the Tamil cinema of Kodambakkam in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, as many Sri Lankan Tamil actors work in Sri Lankan films or independent Tamil films overseas, although a few noted Tamil actors in India were born in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Tamil cinema's growth has largely been stalled due to the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Vishvanath Buddhika Keerthisena, also known as Boodee Keerthisena, is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He began his career drawing comics before moving into painting, dress design, and visual arts. He moved into music in the late 1980s, and performed in a band called "Boo-Dee and the Woo-Zees" (1986–1992) as the lead singer.
Somaratne Dissanayake is a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter and producer. He was the Chairman of Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation and the president of the Film Makers Guild of Sri Lanka (FMG). He is the winner of the most number of international awards for cinema in Sri Lanka. In 2007, he received Presidential award for directing Samanala Thatu (2006).
Priyantha Colombage is a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter who works primarily in Sinhala cinema. He is best known for his directorial debut “Dehena”(Trance) in 1998 & Dehena won the highest number of awards for Sri Lanka and represented the country at the Tokyo International Film Festival. His second film “Vimukthi”(Salvation) was the unanimous choice of local film critics to represent Sri Lanka at the Kerala, Milwelly and Cairo International Film Festivals.
Niranjani Shanmugaraja also known as Niranjani Shanmugarajah is a Sri Lankan award-winning actress in Sri Lankan Sinhalese and Tamil Cinema. She also works as a television host in Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation.