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The SIGNIS Awards are presented annually by SIGNIS, the Roman Catholic lay movement for communication media professionals, to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. There are SIGNIS chapters in numerous countries and this article deals with the Sri Lankan chapter.
SIGNIS (Sri Lanka) developed in November 2001 from the merger of national chapters of OCIC and Unda. OCIC was the international Catholic communications organisation for cinema and Unda was the international Catholic organisation for radio and television. Both organisations were founded in 1928 in Sri Lanka. SIGNIS Sri Lanka is one of 16 Asian units of the worldwide association of SIGNIS, which general secretariat is established in Brussels, Belgium.
Leading directors in Sri Lanka cinema have described being inspired by the Film Review Caucus, a mini-theater organized by OCIC in Colombo. It arranged screenings and encouraged students to write reviews and analyze films. Director Prasanna Vithanage commented in 2007:
"We do not have a film school in Sri Lanka even now," he pointed out, recalling how the current crop of directors got their start. "We learned everything through watching films. Many of the young directors in the industry today were groomed at the Film Review Caucus, which was started at the mini-theater by then-director Father Ernest Poruthota. Then I followed the film course, which was a practical course," he recounted.[ citation needed ]
In March 2013, the director founded the Prasanna Vithanage Film School in Colombo.[ citation needed ]
The SIGNIS Sri Lanka Awards for films and television serials are similar to the Academy Awards in the United States. They recognize achievements in various categories such as directing, editing, musical scoring, camerawork and lighting. The awards ceremony, also like its Hollywood counterpart, has become a gala event that attracts film and television stars, directors, cameramen, scriptwriters, critics and journalists. The award presentations are interspersed with dance and music performances by leading artists, and clips from award-winning movies and TV programs. Aside from the industry awards, SIGNIS Sri Lanka also recognizes individual contributions to local cinema and television through its "Homage" and "Special Salutation" lifetime awards.
In September 2012, the 36th SIGNIS Salutation Ceremony was held in Colombo. Salinda Perera's Dheewari ("Fisherman's Daughter") -- see dheevari.com-- obtained the major prize in the cinema section. It swept all major award categories including Best Director for Salinda Perera, and Best Screenplay by Darrell Costa and Salinda Perera, from a novel by Raja Proctor. (It dramatizes the story of Valli, a valiant fisherman's daughter, who breaks social taboos in her fight to unify and modernize a fishing village long oppressed by the mudalali bosses.) Saman Kumara Liyanage's Sandagiri Pawwa received most of the key tele-drama prizes. CIC Agri Businesses' advertisement, created to communicate its corporate values, won the award for TV commercial for "creative arts, television and cinema", for 2012. The Jury panel included Rev. Fr. Benedict Joseph (Chairman of Signis), Senior Journalist Kala Keerthi Edwin Ariyadasa, and Senior Media Spokesperson Aruna Lokuliyana.
"Jayawilal Wilegoda Award for Best Amateur Critic"
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 o f Chitra Kala Movietone. Sri Lankan films are usually made in Sinhala and Tamil languages, the dominant languages of the country. Cinema of Sri Lanka is also referred to as Follywood.
Udaya Prasanna Vithanage is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He is considered one of the pioneers of the third generation of the Sri Lankan cinema. He has directed eight feature films including Death on a Full Moon Day (1997), August Sun (2003), Flowers of the Sky (2008) & With You, Without You (2012) and won many prestigious national and international awards and have also been commercially successful in Sri Lanka. In his early theatre work, he translated and produced plays by international writers, adapted works of world literature to film. He has battled against the censorship in Sri Lanka and worked as an educator of cinema who has conducted many Master classes in the subcontinent for young filmmakers and enthusiasts.
Tennakoon Mudiyanselage Jayaratne, also known as T.M. Jayaratne (Sinhala:ටි.එම්.ජයරත්න) in Dodangoda, Sri Lanka is a popular Sri Lankan vocalist and a violinist.
Presidential Film Awards is a film award ceremony held in Sri Lanka. It is organized by the National Film Corporation along with the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry of Cultural Affairs. It was 1st awards in 1979 by President J. R. Jayewardene, and continue till 2004. The awards were not held from 2005 to 2014 when Mahinda Rajapakse was president. The award started to be presented again in 2015 by President Maithripala Sirisena.
Pathiraja Navaratne Wanninayake Mudiyanselage Ranjith Dharmasena was a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter. He has been referred to as a 'rebel with a cause', an ‘enfant terrible of the '70s', and is widely recognized as the pioneer of Sri Lankan cinema’s 'second revolution'. He is also renowned as an academic, playwright and poet.
SIGNIS is a Roman Catholic lay ecclesial movement for professionals in the communication media, including press, radio, television, cinema, video, media education, internet, and new technology. It is a non-profit organization with representation from over 100 countries. It was formed in November 2001 by the merger of International Catholic Organization for Cinema and Audiovisual (OCIC) and International Catholic Association for Radio and Television (Unda). At its World Congress in Quebec in 2017, SIGNIS welcomed also former member organisations of the International Catholic Union of the Press (UCIP).
Bambaru Avith is a 1978 Sri Lankan Sinhala drama film directed by Dharmasena Pathiraja and produced by director himself with Thilak Godamanne for Saranga Salaroo. It explores tradition and exploitation following the introduction of capitalism to a tiny fishing village and the subsequent clash between the local boss and the urban outsider.
Amarasiri Kalansuriya,, popularly known as Kalan, is an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, theatre and television. Kalansuriya made his first film appearance alongside Vijaya Kumaratunga in Hanthana Kathawa. His next film Ahas Gauwa won him a best actor award in 1974. He was born in Kandy, and is an alumnus of Dharmaraja College.
Ahas Gauwa (One League of Sky) is a 1974 Sri Lankan drama film directed by Dharmasena Pathiraja. It stars Amarasiri Kalansuriya and Swarna Mallawarachchi in lead roles along with Vijaya Kumaratunga, Wimal Kumara de Costa and Cyril Wickramage. Music composed by Premasiri Khemadasa.
Ruby Jasmine de Mel [Sinhala]), was a Sri lankan film actress in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television. One of the earliest pillars in Sri Lankan film history, de Mel is best known for her roles in films Siriyalatha, Kawata Andare, Nalangana and Granny in television serial Amba Yahaluwo. She died on 8 November 2004 by finishing a career that spanned more than six decades.
Cyril Wickramage is an actor and director]] in Sri Lankan cinema, theater and television as well as a singer. Wickramage is known for participating mainly in artistic Sinhala films. Performed as a charismatic actor in all three art forms: stage, cinema, and teledrama, Wickramage is most notable for the dramatic roles in the films, Bambaru Avith, Karumakkarayo, Seilama and Dheewari.
Dehipitiyage Don Somasiri, popularly as Somasiri Dehipitiya, was a popular Sri Lankan character actor. He is best known for performances in Dharmasena Pathiraja and Vasantha Obeysekera films.
Andrew Jayamanne ඇන්ඩෘ ජයමාන්න was a Sri Lankan cinematographer, and film and television director and producer.
Wimal Kumara de Costa was a Sri Lankan actor most notable for his character roles in art films as well as notable comedy roles in cinema. He is cited as the pioneer of Sri Lanka mime industry.
Hiru Golden Film Awards is an award bestowed to distinguished individuals involved with the Sri Lanka's silver screen, awarded by the Asia Broadcasting Corporation, Sri Lanka and organised by Hiru TV, in recognition of the contributions made by them to the Sri Lankan cinema industry. First commenced in 2014, is held every two years, Hiru Golden Film Awards ceremony is one of the most popular cinematic program events in Sri Lanka. The ceremony was held thrice with the participation of popular Bollywood film stars along with Sri Lanka's finest stars together.
Nimmi Harasgama is an actor, writer, and producer. The British National Television Awards nominated her for best "Drama Performance" for her portrayal of Nurse Mari in ITV's The Good Karma Hospital. She made her screen-debut through the English movie Mother Teresa in 1997 by portraying a supporting character. Her first appearance in Sri Lankan cinema. was as the lead in the Sinhalese movie Ira Madiyama (2003) for which she won Best Performance/Best Actress at several international and national award ceremonies - these included the 2004 International Film Festival of Las Palmas and 2006 SIGNIS Salutation Awards Ceremony.
Bandula de Silva Vithanage [Sinhala]) was an actor and director in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television as well as a translator, director, playwright and script writer. One of the earliest pillars of Sri Lankan art and drama, Vithanage has produced several critically acclaimed television serials and stage dramas during his five decades of drama career. He is the pioneer to introduce Shakespearean theater to Sri Lankan theater with several plays such as Veniciye Velenda, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet.
Daya Bandara Tennakoon [Sinhala]), was an actor in Sri Lankan cinema, stage drama and television.
Poruthotage Raymond Ernest Alexander Fernando, often known simply as Ernest Poruthota, was a Catholic priest. Popularly known as "Priest of the Sinhala Cinema", Poruthota rendered a yeoman service to Sri Lanka's cinema industry and was the founder of Sri Lanka OCIC organization.
The 41st SIGNIS Sri Lanka Salutation Awards Ceremony 2018 festival, presented by the SIGNIS, was held to honor the cinema and television in Sri Lanka on August 25, 2018, at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, Colombo, Sri Lanka. His Eminence, Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith, Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka was the chief guest at the awards night. Theme for the Salutation Ceremony was "The Proud Display of Youth Vitality in the Global Motion Picture Discourse".