‘Gehenu Lamai’, directed by the late Dr. Sumitra Peries, will be screened next week in the Official Selection of the Cannes Film Festival, which will be held from May 13 to May 24 in Cannes, France, under the Cannes Classics category.

Released in 1978, ‘Gehenu Lamai’ is a Sri Lankan Sinhala teenage drama film directed by Sumitra Peries and produced by her husband, Lester James Peries, for Lester Films.

The restoration of ‘Gehenu Lamai’ was undertaken by the Film Heritage Foundation in association with the Dr. Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation. It was funded by a grant provided by the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and the Embassy of France in India, under the aegis of FISCH (France- India – Sri Lanka Cine Heritage).

Sumitra Peries, the first female filmmaker in Sri Lanka and wife of Dr. Lester James Peries, also served as Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to France in the 1990s. She was decorated as a Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Government.

Born in 1934, she emerged to stardom in the country with over 10 films to her credit and expertise as a screenwriter, director, producer, and editor.

In a triumph for Sri Lanka’s film heritage, Sumitra Peries’ “Gehenu Lamai” (1978) restored by Film Heritage Foundation in association with the Lester James Peries and Sumitra Peries Foundation has been selected for a world premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival 2025.

The film has been restored under the aegis of FISCH: France- India – Sri Lanka Cine Heritage – Saving Film Across Borders – a pioneering international collaboration between Film Heritage Foundation, the Embassy of France and the French Institute in India and the Embassy of France in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, dedicated to restoring and preserving cinematic heritage.

The selection of “Gehenu Lamai” for the 78th Cannes Film Festival marks the fourth year in a row that Film Heritage Foundation is returning to Cannes Classic, but its first with a Sri Lankan film. 

Film Heritage Foundation’s earlier restorations – Aravindan Govindan’s “Thamp”, Aribam Syam Sharma’s “Ishanou” and Shyam Benegal’s “Manthan” had red-carpet world premieres at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Recognized as the Outstanding Film of the Year at the 1978 London Film Festival, the debut film of Sumitra Peries – referred to as the Poetess of Sri Lankan Cinema – tells the heartbreaking tale of two young sisters in a Sri Lankan village whose romantic dreams and aspirations are crushed by the class barrier and the conflict between tradition and progress. The poetic black and white imagery beautifully captures the confusion and fragility of adolescent love and yearning coupled with an outstanding performance by a 16 year-old Wasanthi Chathurani as Kusum in her debut role.