Veteran Sri Lankan filmmaker Sumitra Peiris passed away on Thursday (19).
Sumitra Peries (born 24 March 1934) was the first qualified Sri Lankan woman filmmaker and was known by all as the “Poetess of Sinhala Cinema”.
Sumitra was married to the late, great Lester James Peries who was Considered as the father of Sri Lankan cinema.
With over 10 films to her name, and having worked as screenwriter, director, producer and even editor of documentaries, Sumitra has emerged as one of the country’s foremost cultural icons.
Sumitra also 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 then-President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaratunge.
