Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries (Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකාභිමාන්ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්; 5 April 1919 – 29 April 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Considered as the father of Sri Lankan cinema, Lester worked as a filmmaker from 1949 to 2006, and was involved in over 28 films, including shorts and documentaries.
He 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 and the film Nidhanaya was included among the top 100 films of the century by the Cinémathèque Française. Peries' films often deal with Sri Lankan family life in rural settings and conflicted characters. He helped create an authentic expression of Sinhala Cinema.
EARLY LIFE
Lester James Peries was born on 5 April 1919 in Dehiwela, Colombo, Ceylon. His father, Dr. James Francis Peries, studied medicine in Scotland and was also a cricketer for a Scottish club. His mother, Ann Gertrude Winifred Jayasuria, was the first graduate of St. Bridget's Convent in Colombo. Peries had three siblings: Erica, Ivan and Noel.
The Peries family was a staunch Roman Catholic family that had become Anglicised. Growing up, Peries 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, Peries 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. Peries 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.
He attended St Peter's College, Colombo - one of the Catholic schools in Colombo- as a teenager, before dropping out to pursue a career in journalism at the age of 17. He found his first work with the Daily News writing for the blue pages which was an arts supplementation. In 1939 he joined The Times of Ceylon working under Indian editor Frank Moraes. He also reviewed books on Radio Ceylon for a short period.
Peiris first real work with production came when he joined a theatre group called Drama Circle. This was a group of like minded individuals which regularly produced modern English plays. Here Peries was engaged in all aspects of the productions other than acting.
STAY IN ENGLAND
In 1947, Peries travelled to England on his mother's advice to join his brother Ivan Peries who was there on an art scholarship. Moreas suggested writing a column from the country to be published in the Times which became "Letter on the Arts from England."
During that time, film-making was taking off in the UK with about 400 amateur film clubs around the country. In addition, Peries' passion for the cinema was developing and he met another Sri Lankan with similar interests, Hereward Jansz. The two youngsters decided to make a film together despite Hereward having his doubts about competing with established, well-funded clubs. They began with Peries writing the script and directing while Hereward did the filming with their limited camera equipment. Their first effort 'Soliloquy' (1949), a short film, won the Mini Cinema Cup for displaying the best technical proficiency. This work was followed by three other experimental films.
In 1952, the editor John Hockin told Peries of an interesting assignment he had for him – an interview with the new head of the Government Film Unit of Ceylon. At the end of the interview, the head of film unit Mr Keene inquired after Peries' own interest in making films. He knew about Peries' talent because he sat on one of the juries that presented the upcoming director with an amateur's award. Keene suggested that Peries return to Ceylon to embark on a career on filmmaking.
Upon the return to Ceylon of producer Ralph Keene, Peries joined the Government Film Unit as Keene's assistant. Two major documentaries he helped Keene with were Heritage of Lanka and Nelungama. He also directed Conquest in the Dry Zone, a documentary on controlling malaria and Be Safe or Be Sorry, a witty study on errant motorists. At this time, a relative of Peries' suggested he start a company to produce Sinhala films. Peries left Government Film Unit in 1955 and created Chitra Lanka Limited to produce two films. Only one, Rekava, was ultimately produced. Peries' closest colleagues at the Government Film Unit, William Blake, a cameraman of Dutch descent, and Titus de Silva (Titus Thotawatte), an editor, resigned with him and later worked together on a number of films.
PERSONAL LIFE
Peries met his wife, Sumitra, who is also a film director, in Paris at the home of a mutual friend and married in 1964 at All Saints Church in Borella. Peries' brother was artist Ivan Peries.
CAREER
In 1956, Peries made his entry into national cinema with the globally acclaimed Rekava, which was a story based on village life. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival. With this film he revolutionised Ceylonese cinema, giving it a unique identity. It was the first Ceylonese movie to be shot outdoors. Although it was acclaimed internationally it was not a commercial success. Afterward he made many award-winning films such as Gamperaliya in 1964 based on Martin Wickramasinghe's famous novel which received the Golden Peacock at the International Film Festival of India; "Delowak Athara" in 1966; "Golu Hadawatha" in 1968 based on the novel by Karunasena Jayalath; "Nidhanaya" in 1970 which was chosen as the best film of the first 50 years of Sri Lankan cinema and was included among the top 100 films of the century by the Cinémathèque Française;[5] "Yuganthaya" in 1983; and Wekande Walauwa in 2002 which received the UNESCO felini award. He has directed over 28 feature films.
