Sumitra Peries


Sumitra Peries is the first Sri Lankan female filmmaker and is known by all 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 is married to the most prolific Sri Lankan film director Dr. Lester James Peries.

Biography

Early life

Sumitra Gunawardena was born on 24 March 1934 to a Marxist family known as the Boralugoda Gunewardene's in Avissawella. Her father, Henry Gunawardena was a proctor in Avissawella, and brother of the famous politicians Philip Gunawardena and Robert Gunawardena and her mother, Harriette Wickramasinghe was from a middle-class family. Three of Sumitra's relatives, Dinesh Gunawardena, Geethanjana Gunawardena and Prasanna Gunawardena, are still in Sri Lankan politics today.
When Sumitra was just 14 years of age, her mother died. At that time her brother Gamini was five years older and her sister Chandralatha, three years older. She also has a younger brother Ranjith. After the tragedy of their mother's death, Gamini went to the south of France and lived in a yacht with a French painter.
Sumitra began her education in Avissawella, then later enrolled to Visakha Vidyalaya in Colombo and finally joined the Aquinas College Colombo to do the London Advanced Level.
At the age of 20 Sumitra managed to find some money and travelled to Europe by ship to meet her elder brother Gamini. She was to build her own career there, although she didn't know it at the time.

Studies

She studied film making at the London School of Film Technique and was awarded a Diploma in Film Direction and Production. She was the only woman studying this subject there at that time. After passing out, she began working at Mai Harris, a subtitling firm for a short period and later returned home to Sri Lanka. It was briefly before she left that she happened to meet her to-be-husband at the residence of Mr. Vernon Mendis, who was a mutual friend of Lester and Sumitra.
Later on her arrival in Sri Lanka, Sumitra's brother Gamini contacted Lester and checked the possibility of her sister working with him on shoot. Lester agreed and Sumitra started work as assistant director in his second film Sandesaya. A filmmaking company called Cinelanka was established later in 1963 with Anton Wickramasinghe, Lester and Sumitra as major shareholders.

Personal life

Sumitra married Lester James Peries on 19 June 1964 at All Saints Church, Borella and a reception was held at the residence of Anton Wickremasinghe afterwards.

Career

Film career

Sumitra started off her own cinema director debut with her first film Gehenu Lamai featuring newly discovered talent in the young Vasanthi Chathurani. The film was a box office hit and managed to bag many awards at the film festivals of the time. Her next film Ganga addara also featuring Vasanthi Chathurani, Vijaya Kumaratunge and Sanath Gunathileke was another box office hit. She has subsequently directed many more feature films which have all been subjected to international acclaim.
YearFilmRef.
1978Gehenu Lamai
1980Ganga Addara
1982Yahalu Yeheli
1984Maya
1988Sagara Jalaya Madi Handuwa Oba Handa
1996Loku Duwa
1997Duwata Mawaka Misa
2003Sakman Maluwa
2018Vaishnavee

Professional career

In the 1980s, Sumitra was a member of the presidential commission for two years to conduct an inquiry into Sri Lanka's film sector regarding all aspects of the industry such as its troubles, statistics, public opinions and recommendations.
She was in charge of production for Worldview International in Sri Lanka in 1988–1990. Also during the late 1980s and early 1990s, she was a member of the Board of Management of the Institute of Aesthetique Studies, Kelaniya University, Sri Lanka during which Prof A. J. Gunewardena was the director general of the institute.
Sumitra later served as Sri Lanka's ambassador to France and Spain in 1996–1999 and was also appointed as the ambassador of Sri Lanka to the United Nations by President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunge. She served at her post during the bicentennial of "FILM" in its birthplace - France – and was conveniently able to take part in all celebrations along with her spouse Lester James Peries.
She won the award for the best film director in fifty years of Sri Lankan cinema.

Awards

International awards

Best Editor:
Best Director:
The Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries foundation was inaugurated on Thursday 9 June 2011 at the BMICH with an oration by the chief Guest - celebrated Indian film maker Padma Vibushan Dr. Adoor Gopalakrishnan and the Speaker of Parliament Chamal Rajapakse was the Guest of Honour. The Foundation is incorporated through an act of Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The bill of incorporation was forwarded to parliament by Hon. Malini Fonseka on 5 January 2011.

Latest news

Sumitra Peries latest cinema venture Vaishnavee shot in 2012 made her the first director ever to shoot with the latest Red Epic camera and this step has laid the foundation for the next Generation Digital Cinema for Sri Lanka. The film is speculated to be released around March next year.
Dr. and Mrs. Peries recently celebrated their Golden wedding anniversary on 19 June 2014 and now live happily in the comfort of their home located down the road named after Dr. Lester James Peries.
There are two books written about her namely
1. Sumitra Peries- by Vilasnee Tampoe-Hautin
2. Sumitra - by Ajith Galappaththi
These two volumes are available in bookstores in Sri Lanka.