A black-and-white photo showing two people standing very close together and touching each other tenderly.

© Film Heritage Foundation 

Gehenu Lamai

Film Restored
Talk
Film
Sat 24.10.26, 11:30

Si̇nema Transtopia

The story of two young sisters in a Sri Lankan village whose romantic 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 yearning, supported by an outstanding performance from the 16-year-old Vasanthi Chathurani in her debut role. In 2018, the director of the Film Heritage Foundation, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, set out with the film’s director Sumitra Peries to restore her debut feature. ‘The Girls’ had been recognized as Outstanding Film of the Year at the 1978 London Film Festival, but was now in danger of being lost. After six years, with the clock ticking on the deteriorating film material, the funding for the restoration was finally secured. This restoration is part of the Film Heritage Foundation’s larger commitment to film heritage work in Sri Lanka where they have discovered a collection of 30,000 film reels – including several significant Sri Lankan films – in a poor material state and stored under dire conditions.

‘The Girls’, SRI 1978, director: Sumitra Peries, 110 min, OV with EN subtitles
Video introduction: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur (Film Heritage Foundation)
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Tickets € 10
When Sat 24.10.26, 11:30
Where
Available online and at the box office from October
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Event details and guests

Film Info

D: Sumitra Peries
W: Sumitra Peries from the novel of the same name by Karunasena Jayalath
C: M. S. Ananda
E: Sumitra Peries
M: Nimal Mendis
A: Vasanthi Chathurani, Ajith Jinadasa, Jenita Samaraweera, Shyama Anandan, Trelicia Gunawardena, Chitra Wakishta, Senaka Perera, Nimal Dayaratne, Dayamanthi Pattiarachchi, Joe Abeywickrema
P: Lester James Peries Production
Prod: Lester James Peries
WP: March 1978

Original format: 35mm, b/w
Screening print: 4K DCP, 110 min, Film Heritage Foundation

Restoration Information

The film was restored in 2025 by the Film Heritage Foundation at the L’Immagine Ritrovata laboratory using the 35mm combined dupe negative and two 35mm release prints preserved at the National Film Corporation of Sri Lanka. The condition of the three elements had deteriorated with tears, broken sprockets, heavy warping, emulsion damage and shrinkage that had also impacted the sound quality.

Shivendra Singh Dungarpur

is a filmmaker, producer, film archivist and restorer. The founder of the Film Heritage Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of India’s cinematic heritage, he is also director of the Mumbai Film Festival. His first feature documentary, ‘Celluloid Man’ (2012), won two national awards while his second, ‘The Immortals’ (2015), won the Special Jury Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF). His third documentary, entitled ‘CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel’, was voted one of the top five releases in 2020 by the British Film Institute and ‘Sight & Sound’ magazine.

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About Film Restored

In 2026, the Deutsche Kinemathek’s film heritage festival explores risk in cinema. We are examining the perils facing film producers and distributors; looking at the challenges encountered in archives and during restoration work; and showing films about characters who have everything at stake. These are layers of risk that often overlap and are mutually reinforcing.

→ More about the festival

Further events

Wednesday 21.10.

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Thursday 22.10.