a post with Hearst Metrotone News on the weekly newsreel, Metro News for the Military Assistance Command in Vietnam. Film career On his return to Sri Lanka, Nihalsinghe was asked to be cameraman and editor of Sath Samudura. He brought to the film a fluid newsreel look, (a total departure from the Indian studio style camera work) hand-holding the 35mm Arriflex film camera- a point which was noted by reviewers. He is famous for the first teledrama in Sri Lanka, Dimuthu muthu. Nihalsingha received the Cardiff Commonwealth Film Festival award for his first film Bakhti. In 1971, he made the groundbreaking Welikathara in cinemascope. "Welikathara" was South Asia's second CinemaScope film and Sri Lanka's first. Maldeniye Simiyon (1986) won star Anoja Weerasinghe the 'Silver Peacock' as the Best Actress at the 11th Delhi International Film Festival, 1987. Kelimadala (1992) won a dozen awards at the Sarasaviya film festival. Ridi Nimnaya (1982) starred Sanath Gunatileke. Industry work After graduating from the University of Ceylon with a degree in Economics, Nihalsingha began his career, winning the Most Promising Filmmaker award for his documentary Bhakthi at the Cardiff International Film Festival in 1965. He then began as a newsreel cameraman for Hearst Metrotone News, the US-based weekly global newsreel, in 1965. He was sent to Vietnam attached to the Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MAC-V) to cover war-related work for the NEWS of the DAY weekly global newsreel. Returning to Sri Lanka, he began a career in film encompassing documentary and feature films beginning as cameraman and editor of Sath Samudura, (Nuwan Nayanajith in Nihalsingha:The Pioneering Third Eye) as a milestone in Sri Lankan cinema. His fluid camera work in this film, originating from his newsreel experience, was widely recognised as fresh in an industry where massive Mitchell Indian-style immobile camera work was the norm. At the age of 29, Nihalsingha became the youngest person to hold the post of Director of the Ceylon Government Film Unit, succeeding George Wicremasinghe (who was its first Sri Lankan Director). The Government Film Unit is the one institution with continuity whose productions have won the highest number of international awards for its documentaries. Besides invigorating documentary film production, he was instrumental in introducing 35 mm still film to Sri Lanka to replace 120 film when he was asked to oversee the photographic aspects of the National Identity Card project. Using Practica cameras gifted by the (then) East