Sanjeewa Pushpakumara (May 5, 1977) was born and grew up in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. He received Master degree in film-making at Chung Ang University in Seoul, South Korea in 2014. Sanjeewa underwent training in filmmaking at the Asian Young Filmmakers Forum in Jeonju, South Korea (2007), the Asian Film Academy of the Busan International Film Festival (2009), and the Berlinale Talent Campus (2012).
Sanjeewa’s first feature film, Flying Fish (Igillena Maluwo), received a grant towards its post-production from the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival of Rotterdam (IFFR). The film made its world premiere at the IFFR and was nominated for the Tiger Award in 2011. The film has been invited to more than 40 International Festivals and special screenings all around the world.
In 2012 Sanjeewa was invited for Cinéfondation Résidence programme by Cannes film festival to develop his other film project Burning Birds.