The 35th Lux Sarasaviya Film Awards organized by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited (Lake House) was held at the BMICH yesterday night. The awards ceremony is organized to celebrate the country’s cinematic excellence and the queen of Sri Lankan cinema, the legendary Dr. Malani Fonseka was the chief guest.
Unilever Lux proudly stands as the festival’s main sponsor, reaffirming its commitment to nurturing the growth and prosperity of the Sri Lankan film fraternity.Commercial Bank is the banking partner.
Transport, Highways and Mass Media Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardhana, Ports and Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Minister Dr. Wijayadasa Rajapakshe and Foreign Minister Ali Sabry PC, also attended the 35th Lux Sarasaviya Film awards.
A total of 57 coveted awards were presented to films released during the years 2019 and 2020, spanning a diverse array of categories including direction, acting, cinematography, playback singing and music composition.
Veteran artiste Sathischandra Edirisinghe bagged the once-in-a-lifetime Ranathisara award for 2019 in recognition of their service for the cause of cinema. Popular Singer Victor Rathnayake received the Ranathisara Award for 2020 for his invaluable contribution towards the musical industry in Sinhala Cinema.
This year’s Ranathisara Award has been named the Dr. Lester James Peries Memorial Ranathisara Award in honour of the legendary cinema director who created a turning point in local cinema with the breakthrough movie “Rekawa” (Line of Destiny). The movie was shot entirely outdoors in contrast to the studio culture that prevailed in the 1950s and all the songs were also originals, not copied from Hindi or Tamil movies.
Pictures by Wimal Karunathilake, Thilak Perera, Malan Karunaratne, Chinthaka Kumarasinghe, Rukmal Gamage, Dushmantha Mayadunne, Nissanka Wijeratne, Shan Rupassara, Wasitha Patabendige and Sudath Nishantha
Award winners from 30 films screened in 2019
Award winners from 26 films screened in 2020
