The inaugural Presidential Cinema Awards Festival took place 44 years ago, on July 27, 1979, under the auspices of President J. R. Jayewardene. The event was hosted at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo. This year’s event will be held on Tuesday, November 14, at the same venue with President Ranil Wickremesinghe as Chief Guest.
Chairman, National Film
Corporation, Deepal
Chandraratne
The idea of introducing Presidential Awards was initially conceived by Anton Wickramasinghe, who served as the chairman of the National Film Corporation (NFC). He was also the producer of the award-winning ‘Gamperaliya’ and a connoisseur of art.
Speaking to the Sarasaviya Magazine in June 1979, he said “the decision to host a Presidential Awards ceremony was made in recognition of the significant support extended by the Government to Sinhala cinema and its acknowledgement of the film industry.”
During the award ceremony, Wickramasinghe delivered his opening remarks and revealed that the Film Corporation Act would be amended.
“As part of these changes, the National Film Corporation would be established, and the National Cinema Complex would be dedicated to the advancement of the Sri Lankan cinema industry,” he said.
The core message conveyed in the President’s speech was the commitment to deliver good quality films and upgraded theatres to the public, with a simultaneous focus on promoting the export of our films to international audiences.
In the 1979 President’s Film Awards ceremony, which honoured films released in 1978, a notable and unprecedented event occurred when two awards were presented for the Best Director category. This occurrence had never happened in the history of the Awards since.
The remarkable co-awards were given to Dharmasena Pathiraja, the director of ‘Bambaru Awith,’ and Lester James Peiris, the director of ‘Ahasin Polowata.’ Both films were box office hits. This decision created a buzz among many people. In addition to the Best Director awards, several other awards were also presented.
At the time of the Presidential Awards Ceremony, the artiste Rukmani Devi, who was recognised as the Best Playback Singer, had tragically passed away in an accident.
Rukmani, widely renowned as a film actress and performer, had received numerous accolades for her acting, but this marked her first award as a singer. The ceremony was deeply emotional for all in attendance, as Rukmani’s husband, actor Eddie Jayamanna, was moved to tears as he went on stage to receive the posthumous award on her behalf.
The children’s film “Handaya” achieved a unique distinction by winning seven awards at the 1980 University Awards but did not receive a single award at the 1980 President’s Awards. Titus Thotawatte, the director of “Handaya,” however, received a special recognition for his lifelong service to local cinema. Later, he pioneered animation on local TV. A new record in the history of cinema awards was established at the 1981 President’s Awards ceremony by having two awards for Best Production and two co-awards for Best Film Direction, reminiscent of the first President’s Awards, marking a noteworthy moment in the annals of cinema.
Accordingly, the film “Siribo Aiya” received awards for the top film production, with recognition going to Milina Sumathipala for the groundbreaking movie “Ganga Addara” which also introduced Sanath Gunathilake and Wasanthi Chathurani to local movie audiences. The Best Director award was bestowed upon Sumitra Peiris for “Ganga Addara” and Sunil Ariyaratne for “Siribo Aiya.”
Another noteworthy event at this event was the presentation of a special award to Titus Thotawatte. He received Rs. 150,000 and a Bronze Lion gift, which was funded by the money awarded to a Sri Lankan film director who had earned the highest honour at an international film festival. Additionally, Thotawatta was honoured with the Dala Seya Pata special award.
A memorable moment during the ceremony was the Best Actor award presentation to Joe Abeywickrama, for his nuanced portrayal of Siribohami in the film “Siribo Ayya”. This prestigious event was graced by the then presence of Minister of State Anandatissa de Alwis. These were just a few of the special moments and events that occurred during the initial years of the Presidential Awards. Along with the Sarasaviya Awards, the Presidential Film awards has become a major event in the local movie calendar over the years.
This year, 53 awards will be presented at the Presidential Film Awards Ceremony for films screened in 2019 and 2021.
A five-member jury has already watched all the films screened in these two years. The ceremony could not be held in the intervening years due to the pandemic and 2019 was the last year in which it was held, for films screened in 2018.
Accompanying this article are posters for some of the movies screened in 2019 and 2020.
The writer is a veteran film critic and journalist and a former chief editor of the ANCL film weekly Sarasaviya.
Translated by Maneshka Borham
