’Gehenu Lamai’ selected for Cannes Classics at 78th Festival de Cannes

Colombo, May 8 (Daily Mirror) - The landmark 1978 Sinhala-language film Gehenu Lamai (Girls), directed by the late Dr. Sumitra Peries, has been officially selected for the prestigious Cannes Classics section at the 78th Festival de Cannes. 

The restored version of the film will be screened next week, celebrating its place in South Asian cinematic heritage.

The film’s restoration was carried out in 4K by the Film Heritage Foundation at the renowned L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory. The project was undertaken in collaboration with the Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation and funded under the France–India–Sri Lanka Cine Heritage (FISCH) initiative, with support from the French Embassies in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and India.

The Cannes screening will be attended by lead actress Vasanthi Chathurani, lead actor Ajith Jinadasa, Film Heritage Foundation Director Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, and Gayathri Mustachi, Chairperson of the Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation.

Gehenu Lamai will be featured alongside Aranyer Din Ratri (1970), the acclaimed Bengali-language film by Indian auteur Satyajit Ray, as part of the Classics line-up that honours restored masterpieces of world cinema.

This marks a proud moment for Sri Lankan cinema on the global stage, spotlighting the enduring legacy of Dr. Sumitra Peries, widely regarded as the ‘Poetess of Sinhala Cinema’.