Reel 01  ·  35mm  ·  Sri Lanka

Soovisi
Vivarana

Eighteen years later. Finally on the big screen.

Shot on 35mm. A performance by Jayalath Manoratne. A story that waited eighteen years to be seen.

Watch the trailer Coming to cinemas
Thread the reel

Frame 01 — The film

A film that waited

Soovisi Vivarana was finished eighteen years ago and never received the theatrical release it was made for.

The negative survived. Held in pristine condition, this 35mm production can now be seen the way it was originally made — and with it, the work of one of Sri Lanka's most admired actors, Jayalath Manoratne.

This year, the film finally reaches an audience.

18Years without a theatrical release
35mmShot on original analogue stock
IntactFilm material preserved in full
2026Returning to cinemas

Frame 02 — Jayalath Manoratne

A drummer seated with his daughter on a veranda, a hand raised to her head.

Remembering
Manoratne

Jayalath Manoratne was among the most respected figures of Sri Lankan stage and screen — an actor, dramatist and teacher whose work shaped a generation of performers.

His performance here is one of the last of his roles to reach an audience, and one of the reasons this film deserved a screen.

An award-winning performance

Manoratne received the Best Actor award for his work in Soovisi Vivarana — a performance almost no audience has had the chance to see.

Explore his legacy

Archive in progress — photographs, tributes and recollections from colleagues, students and collaborators.

Manoratne seated with a drum beside a young woman on a veranda.
Manoratne seated beside a second drummer.
Manoratne by lamplight in a mud-walled interior.

Three of the stills in which he appears — more to be added as the archive grows

Frame 03 — The trailer

See it before
anyone else has

Two figures sitting on a mat by lamplight inside a mud-walled house.

Out of reach for eighteen years. This is the first look.

Watch the trailer
Sarath Dharmasiri beside a 35mm camera loaded with Kodak Vision2 stock.

The story behind the film

How Soovisi Vivarana was made, where it went, and why it is coming back now — told by the people who were there.

Watch the documentary

Frame 04 — Recognition

Recognised then.
Rediscovered now.

The film was honoured on release. It simply never met the audience that the honours were meant to send to it.

Best FilmSAARC Film Festival
Best DirectorSAARC Film Festival
Best ActorJayalath Manoratne
Best Film
Cinema of TomorrowDerana Film Awards

Frame 05 — Cast & crew

The people
behind the film

Select a frame for the full credit.

Jayalath Manoratne.
Jayalath ManoratneActor
Indika Upamali.
Indika UpamaliActor
Chandani Seneviratne.
Chandani SeneviratneActor
Sarath Dharmasiri.
Sarath DharmasiriDirector / Screenwriter
Photograph
wanted
Sumedha LiyanageCinematography
Photograph
wanted
Prof. Mudiyanse DissanayakeChoreography
Photograph
wanted
Prof. Sunil AriyaratneLyrics
Photograph
wanted
Ravindra Guruge & Ajith RamanayakeEditing
Photograph
wanted
Name to be confirmedMusic

Frame 06 — Shot on 35mm

Before digital

A young woman and a drummer standing among banana leaves.
A group of young women seated in a row, hands raised in a dance gesture, a drummer beside them.
Two drummers seated side by side on a veranda.
A drummer and a young woman on a veranda.
An interior scene lit by a single oil lamp.
A woman holding a man's head against her shoulder.
A light meter held up to an actor's face on location.
The director at the 35mm camera.

Before cinema became largely digital, a story was caught one frame at a time on a strip of film.

Soovisi Vivarana was shot on 35mm. Eighteen years on, we are carrying that analogue image into a digital age — and paying attention to what changes along the way.

Analogue × Digital × AI

Restoring the film is also an opportunity to ask what happens when analogue cinema meets contemporary tools. We are documenting that work as we go.

Preservation

Handling, inspection and long-term care of the original 35mm material.

Scanning & restoration

Digitising the film and repairing what time has done to it, frame by frame.

Analogue against digital

Side-by-side comparisons of the same image on film and after scanning.

Frame 07 — On location

Behind
the scenes

A reading off the light meter, a can of stock in the magazine, and no way to check the shot until the lab sent it back.

A crew member holds a light meter up beside an actor's face while the unit waits around them.

Taking a reading before the take. On 35mm the exposure had to be right in the moment — there was no screen to check it against.

Unit photograph
Sarath Dharmasiri at the 35mm camera, a Kodak Vision2 can visible in the magazine.
Performers seated in a row on location between setups.

More unit photography is being recovered from the production's own records. If you worked on the film and hold photographs, we would like to hear from you.

Send us photographs

Frame 08 — The lost publicity

The film survived.
The publicity didn't.

The negative is intact, but most of the material made to promote the film — posters, stills, press artwork, cinema displays — has been lost. We are rebuilding that world for a digital generation, and keeping a record of what was original and what is new.

A faded version of a scene from the film.
The same scene after restoration.
As found Restored

Drag to compare — placeholder pairing until archival and recreated artwork is ready

Contribute material

Frame 09 — The return

Two figures resting against a mud wall.

Eighteen years later,
Soovisi Vivarana
comes to cinemas

Release details are being confirmed with distributors and exhibitors. Follow the release and we will tell you the moment tickets open.

ReleaseDate to be announced
CinemasLocations to be announced
Format35mm original, digitally restored
Follow the release Tickets open soon

Frame 10 — Universities & academics

A film for
a new generation

We are inviting universities, student societies, academics, filmmakers and creative communities to take part in the return of Soovisi Vivarana.

Screenings

Campus screenings with discussion, introduced by the people who made the film.

Research

Jayalath Manoratne, Sri Lankan cinema, and the history around this production.

35mm

Analogue filmmaking, preservation and archival practice, using this film as a case study.

AI & cinema

Contemporary tools applied to restoration, promotion and preservation.

Digital storytelling

Rebuilding the promotional world that has been lost over time.

We are also glad to support students and academics writing articles, research or publications on the film, on Manoratne, and on Sri Lankan analogue cinema.

Become a collaborator

Frame 11 — Partners

In partnership with

Film & analogue
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Academic
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Technology
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Cultural & archival
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Media & cinema
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Frame 12 — Be part of the return

Three ways in

Watch

See the film in a cinema, the way it was shot to be seen.

Follow the release

Collaborate

Universities, societies, filmmakers and creative communities.

Bring a screening to your university

Support

Organisations and brands preserving and promoting Sri Lankan cinema.

Partner with the film