Lester James Peries
| Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peiris | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
5 April 1919 Dehiwela, British Ceylon |
| Occupation | Film director, Film producer and Screenwriter |
| Years active | 1949–2006 |
| Spouse(s) | Sumitra Peries (1964–present) |
| Website | www |
Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peiris (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාභිමාන්ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්) (born 5 April 1919) is an internationally acclaimed Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, and film producer. An active filmmaker since 1949, Peries has been involved in over 28 films, including shorts and documentaries. He has received critical acclaim for directing Rekava, Gamperaliya, Nidhanaya, Golu Hadawatha, Kaliyugaya, Awaragira and Yuganthaya. His movie Wekande Walauwa, starring Ravindra Randeniya and Malini Fonseka, was Sri Lanka's first ever submission for the Academy Awards. Peiris's films often deal with Sri Lankan family life in rural settings and conflicted characters. He helped create an authentic expression of Sinhala Cinema.
Lester James Peiris was born on 5 April 1919 in Dehiwela, Colombo, Ceylon. Lester's father Dr. James Francis Peiris had studied medicine in Scotland and also was a former cricketer for a Scottish club. His mother Ann Gertrude Winifred Jayasuria was a graduate of St. Bridget's Convent in Colombo. Jayasuriya notably was the first student to pass the Senior Cambridge exam at the school. Lester had three siblings: Erica, Ivan and Noel.
The Peiris family was a staunch Roman Catholic family that had become Anglicised. Growing up Lester only spoke English at home and celebrated Christian traditions. His only link to Sinhala culture was his grandmother who always didn't trust Western medicine and spoke proper Sinhalese. At the age of eleven Lester was given a 8mm Kodascope projector by his father as a gift, which ran Chaplin's silent movies. At that time, his only interest in films was when he and his brother Ivan would haunt the cinema to watch foreign film serials which ran day after day. Lester was never involved in school drama productions, and had no idea he was going to be a film director especially since British Ceylon did not have its own national film industry at that time.
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