The SIGNIS Awards are presented annually by

SIGNIS SIGNIS (official name: World Catholic Association for Communication) is a Roman Catholic ecclesial movement of the Faithful for professionals in the communication media, including press, radio, television, cinema, video, media education, int ...

, the Roman Catholic lay movement for

communication media Means of communication or media are used by people to communicate and exchange information with each other as an Communication source, information sender and a Receiver (information theory), receiver. General information Many different materi ...

professionals, to recognize excellence of professionals in the

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...

, including directors, actors, and writers. There are SIGNIS chapters in numerous countries and this article deals with the Sri Lankan chapter.

Background

SIGNIS (Sri Lanka) developed in November 2001 from the merger of national chapters of

OCIC SIGNIS (official name: World Catholic Association for Communication) is a Roman Catholic ecclesial movement of the Faithful for professionals in the communication media, including press, radio, television, cinema, video, media education, inter ...

and

Unda Unda or UNDA may refer to: * Unda (genus), a genus of Amoebozoa * Unda (plural "undae"), a term for an extraterrestrial dune field * Unda (organization), the International Catholic Association for Radio and Television which was merged with OCIC t ...

. OCIC was the international Catholic communications organisation for cinema and Unda was the international Catholic organisation for

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. Both organisations were founded in 1928 in Sri Lanka. SIGNIS Sri Lanka is one of 16 Asian units of the worldwide association of

, which general secretariat is established in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Leading directors in Sri Lanka cinema have described being inspired by the Film Review Caucus, a mini-theater organized by

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

. It arranged screenings and encouraged students to write reviews and analyze films. Director

Prasanna Vithanage Udaya Prasanna Vithanage () (born 14 March 1962) is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most talented and influential filmmakers in South Asia. He is known for thought-provoking films that often deals with social, polit ...

commented in 2007:

"We do not have a film school in Sri Lanka even now," he pointed out, recalling how the current crop of directors got their start. "We learned everything through watching films. Many of the young directors in the industry today were groomed at the Film Review Caucus, which was started at the mini-theater by then-director Father
Ernest Poruthota Poruthotage Raymond Ernest Alexander Fernando ( Sinhala: පෝරුතොටගේ රේමන්ඩ් අර්නස්ට් ඇලෙක්සැන්ඩර් ප්‍රනාන්දු) (31 August 1931 — 16 June 2020), often know ...
. Then I followed the film course, which was a practical course," he recounted.

In March 2013, the director founded the Prasanna Vithanage Film School in Colombo.

SIGNIS Awards (Sri Lanka)

The SIGNIS Sri Lanka Awards for films and television serials are similar to the

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. They recognize achievements in various categories such as directing, editing, musical scoring, camerawork and lighting. The awards ceremony, also like its

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

counterpart, has become a gala event that attracts film and television stars, directors, cameramen, scriptwriters, critics and journalists. The award presentations are interspersed with dance and music performances by leading artists, and clips from award-winning movies and TV programs. Aside from the industry awards, SIGNIS Sri Lanka also recognizes individual contributions to local cinema and television through its "Homage" and "Special Salutation" lifetime awards.

2012 Awards

In September 2012, the 36th SIGNIS Salutation Ceremony was held in

. Salinda Perera's ''Dheewari ("Fisherman's Daughter") -- see dheevari.com--'' obtained the major prize in the cinema section. It swept all major award categories including Best Director for Salinda Perera, and Best Screenplay by Darrell Costa and Salinda Perera, from a novel by Raja Proctor. (It dramatizes the story of Valli, a valiant fisherman's daughter, who breaks social taboos in her fight to unify and modernize a fishing village long oppressed by the mudalali bosses.) Saman Kumara Liyanage's ''Sandagiri Pawwa'' received most of the key tele-drama prizes. CIC Agri Businesses' advertisement, created to communicate its corporate values, won the award for

TV commercial A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

for "creative arts, television and cinema", for 2012. The Jury panel included Rev. Fr.

Benedict Joseph Benedict may refer to: People Names *Benedict (given name), including a list of people with the given name *Benedict (surname), including a list of people with the surname Religious figures * Pope Benedict I (died 579) *Pope Benedict II (635– ...

(Chairman of Signis), Senior Journalist

Kala Keerthi Edwin Ariyadasa Kala or Kalah may refer to: Sanskrit words *Kāla, meaning 'time' or 'black', and in various Indian religions the personification of time as a deity ** an epithet of the Hindu god Yama ** an epithet of the Hindu god Shiva *Kalā, meaning 'perform ...

, and Senior Media Spokesperson

Aruna Lokuliyana Aruna may refer to: Religion and mythology * Aruna (Hinduism), the charioteer of Surya in Hinduism * Aruna (Hittite mythology), a Hittite sea god * Aruna Stambha, a monumental religious pillar in Puri, Odisha, India * Arunachala (''red mountai ...

41st SIGNIS Awards The 41st SIGNIS Sri Lanka Salutation Awards Ceremony 2018 festival (Sinhala: 41 වැනි සිග්නීස් සම්මාන උලෙළ), presented by the SIGNIS, was held to honor the cinema and television in Sri Lanka on August 25 ...

42nd SIGNIS Awards The 42nd SIGNIS Sri Lanka Salutation Awards Ceremony 2018 festival (Sinhala: 42 වැනි සිග්නීස් සම්මාන උලෙළ), presented by the SIGNIS and organized by Sri Lanka Catholic Cinema Parshadaya, was held to hon ...

Signis Awards of Merit

"Jayawilal Wilegoda Award for Best Amateur Critic" #1986 - Nihal Peries #1987 - Nisitha Warnasooriya #1988 - Erik Ilayapparachchi #1989 - Premachandra Roopasinhe #1991 - Ajantha Hapuarachchi #1992 - Sudath Mahaadivulwewa #1993 - Thusitha Jayasundara. #1996 - Ajith Galappaththi #1997 - Charitha Dissanayake #1998 - Nuwan Nayanajith Kumar #2000 - Suranga Senanayake #2002 - Boopathy Nalin Wickramage #2003 - Indika Nishantha Udugampala #2004 - Lionel Rajapakshe

Best Picture

1970s

#*1973 - ''Ahas Gauwa'' #*1977 - ''Bambaru Awith''

1980s

#*1981 - ''Soldadu Unnahe''

2000s

#*2006 - ''Ira Mediyama'' #*2008 - ''Sankara'' and ''Aganthukaya'' #*2011 - ''Bambara Walalla'' #*2012 - ''Dheewari'' (Dheevari aka Fisherman's Daughter)

Best Director

1970s

#*1973 -

Dharmasena Pathiraja Pathiraja Navaratne Wanninayake Mudiyanselage Ranjith Dharmasena (28 March 1943 – 28 January 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director and screenwriter. He has been referred to as a 'rebel with a cause', an ‘''enfant terrible'' of the '70s', and ...

– ''Ahas Gauwa'' #*1977 -

– ''Bambaru Awith''

1980s

#*1981 -

– ''Soldadu Unnahe''

2000s

#*2006 -

– ''Ira Mediyama'' #*2005 -

Boodee Keerthisena Vishvanath Buddhika Keerthisena, also known as Boodee Keerthisena, is a Sri Lankan filmmaker. He began his career drawing comics before moving into painting, dress design, and visual arts. He moved into music in the late 1980s, and performed ...

– Mille Soya (Buongiorno Italia)

Best Cinematographer

1990s

#*1996 -

Andrew Jayamanne Andrew Jayamanne ඇන්ඩෘ ජයමාන්න (alternative spelling Andrew Jayamanna, 9 November 1943 – 29 August 2014) was a Sri Lankan cinematographer, and film and television director and producer. Early life Jayamanne is the el ...

Julietge Bhoomikawa #*1979 -

Handaya #*1972 -

Haralaksaya

References

{{reflist Sri Lankan film awards