Personal life
Rathnayake was born on 24 October in Matale. He worked at Department of Customs, Sri Lanka for few years since 1978. Later, he followed a Diploma in Science of Gems at University of Moratuwa. He is married to Samanmalee Hawapanna and the couple has one son, Udara and two daughters – Erandathi and Bhagya. His sonCareer
In 1986, Rathnayake followed the cinematography program conducted by the OCIC. At the end of the course, he produced a 25-minute drama called ''Piyawaru saha Puththu''. In 1987, the drama won the award for the best non-serial creation at the O.C.I.C Awards Ceremony. The confidence gained by the award moved him towards National Television and Independence Television channels to produce many television serials in early 1990s including ''Tharu'' which was telecast over MTV. He has produced many notable television serials ''Tharu'', ''Grahanaya'', ''Kalu Hansayo'', ''Makara Vijithaya'', ''Kadumuna'', ''Palingu'', and ''www.com''. In 1988, he directed the serial with 5 episodes, titled ''Sayuren Eha''. In 1994, he established his own institution "Ben Films", as a production institute for teledramas and cinema creation. In 2001, he became a filmmaker with the maiden film ''Aswesuma''. In that year, he won the Sarasaviya award for Best Director and the film won many awards at several local film festivals including Platinum Award for the Best First Feature at the 34th Houston International Film Festival. It generally receives positive reviews from critics. The film was critically acclaimed and won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Bombay International Film Festival. In 2001, director Rathnayake won the Platinum award for the Best Director at the 34th Houston International Film Festival. In 2001, director won the critics award organised by the Federation of International Cinema Critics Association at the Mumbai International film festival. The film was selected for the Montreal and Quebec City International Film Festivals as well as Moscow IFF, Singapore IFF, and Kerala IFF. In 2001, the film was selected as an entry in the competitive section at the 25th São Paulo International Film Festival in Brazil as well as 4th International film festival in India. In 2002, film won the Don Quikoti, special jury award at the 7th Dhaka Film Festival. On 29 February 2002, the film was screened at Saint Joes Film festival and then at Tiburon International Film Festival in USA starting from 22 March 2002. In 2002, director won Golden Reel award for the Best Director at Tiburon International Film Festival held at the Tiburon Playhouse Theatre in USA from 22 to 28 March. Later in 2005, he directed his second film ''Sulanga'', which acclaimed critical appreciation at Houston International Cinema Festival. In mid=2000s, Rathnayake mad.e two television serials – ''Sudheera'' and ''Senda Sakmana''. The film has received mostly positive reviews from critics. The film won six awards at the Calcutta International Film festival, Montreal IFF and Rio International Film Festival in Brazil. In 2006, the film won the Silver Remi Award at the Houston International Film Festival. The film was selected to be screened in the competitive section of Pyongyang International Film Festival in September 2006. In 2010, Rathnayake directed the war-related film ''Ira Handa Yata''. In 2009, it was premiered at the 23rd Singapore International Film Festival and nominated for the Silver Screen award as well. The film received positive reviews from critics and won the award of ‘Honourable Mention’ at the Los Angeles International Film Festival in 2010. He introduced his son Udara to the Sri Lankan cinema through the film. The film also won the best film award at the first edition of the Identita Film Festival, Italy. In 2013, the film won the Best Film Award at Fiji Film Festival. After screening ''Ira Handa Yata'' in 2010, he tried to make a film called ''Sath Ima'' in 2013. The film could not be completed due to several interruptions. So Rathnayake was in shocking mood for several years. It was at that time when made the film ''Nela'' where the film production was completed in October 2016. He has created the film based on the novel "Nela" translated into Sinhala by Indrani Ratnasekera based on the novel "Marianella" written by Benito Feroz Galdos. However, he waited about a year and a half for the film to be screened on 14 February 2018. The premiere of the film was held at the Regal Cinema Hall in Colombo. Rathnayake has acted in few films including, ''Directed filmography
Accolades
Youth Services Council
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External links