It was only a matter of time until Sri Lankans made their own English language film. In 1991, the first locally made mainstream English language film—It's a Matter of Time' was made. It was written and directed by Roy de Silva, famed for his body of comedic work. Indeed, 'It's a Matter of Time' was a romantic comedy of the same form; only this time the dialogue was in English. The cast comprised well-known names such as screen legend Gamini Fonseka and Rosy Senanayake, as well as (then) newcomers Kamal Addaraarachchi and Sangeetha Weeraratne, who went onto become screen stars. The film was a moderate success and ran at the Majestic Cinema for 75 days.
Speaking to the Daily News in 2012, on the release of the spiritual sequel to 'It's a Matter of Time', 'It's a Matter of Love', director Roy de Silva said “Many people still discuss 'It's a Matter of Time' with me. Many of the film's DVDs had been sold taken abroad. Maybe the audience is not as big as those who enjoy Sinhala movies but I wish to see more film-makers following my avenue. I wish to see producers who are able to put money into making English movies using the latest technological devices to make better productions. If this materializes I am sure we would be able to popularize our creations by running our films for at least a week in countries like USA and India.”
