Veteran filmmaker Kala Keerthi Sumitra Peries, known as “the Poetess of Sinhala Cinema”, passed away yesterday (19) at the age of 88, while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Colombo. The cinema industry, as well as cinephiles, are paying tribute to Peries, who was Sri Lanka’s first female filmmaker.
Born in 1935, Peries has been credited as a director, producer, editor, and screenwriter. She made her directorial debut with Gehenu Lamayi, which starred Vasanthi Chathurani. The movie was a hit and won several awards locally and internationally. This includes the award for Outstanding Film of the Year at the London Film Festival in 1978.
She is credited as director on 10 movies, with most winning international awards. According to the National Film Corporation, Peries won presidential awards for best editor for Ahasin Polawata (1979), Ganga Addara (1981) and best director for Ganga Addara, Yahalu Yeheli (1983), Loku Duwa (1997), and Duwata Mawaka Misa (1998).
Her most recent productions are Yahaluwo (2007), starring Kamal Addaraarachchi, Anarkali Akarsha, and Vasanthi Chathurani, and Vaishnavee (2017), starring Samadhi Arunachaya, Rohana Beddage, and Vasanthi Chathurani.
She received the Sahithya Chakrawarthi Honorary Doctorate of Literature from the Kelaniya University for her outstanding contribution towards the advancement of local and international cinema by the University of Kelaniya on 15 January 2022 at the University’s 120th convocation.
Sumitra Peries was married to veteran filmmaker Lester James Peries, who passed away in 2018.
Addressing Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena said: “One of the greatest and most respected filmmakers in our country, Sumitra Peries, has passed away. On behalf of the Government, we express our condolences. Besides being the wife of Lester James Peries, who was one of the best directors of international acclaim, she herself earned respect for several of her creations globally and brought many awards and honours to the country.”
Photographer Dayan Witharana shared that he, along with Peries, participated in a TV programme held for actress Iranganie Serasinghe early last year, and also met Peries at a special screening of the movie Vekanda Walauwa, where he photographed her. These are the latest photographs he has of Peries.
“While I was taking photographs that day, I told her that my mother would be her age if she were alive, and she said to me, ‘You are my son too’. I felt it very much that day, and even today at the moment of her death, remembering those words made me emotional,” Witharana shared.
He added that the day was even more emotional, as his father passed away on a similar day 47 years ago. “She said she hoped to take photographs of her receiving her doctorate degree, but her unexpected passing has been sorrowful for us, cinema, as well as all of Sri Lanka.”
Meanwhile, author Avishka Mario Senewiratne shared images from the screening and launch of his book Little Bike Lost, which Peries attended.
“Sumitra was a genius, a trailblazer in her own right, who gave all she had to make some authentic movies. I once joked saying, ‘I think your films are better than Lester’s’. Her reply was, ‘Without Lester, I wouldn’t have made films’.”
Actor Hemal Ranasinghe also paid tribute to the filmmaker, saying he was sorry he couldn’t pay his final respects to her as he was out of the country, but that he was forever grateful for her interest in directing him.
Actors Pubudu Jagoda and Janith Wickramage were also among those who paid tribute to Sumitra Peries.