{{Short description|Sri Lankan-Canadian filmmaker and actress}} '''Sumathy Balaram''' is a Sri Lankan-Canadian filmmaker and actress.<ref name=newindian>Roshne Balasubramanian, [https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/2017/Aug/15/filmmaker-sumathy-balarams-niyoga-on-sri-lanka-civil-war-1643650.html "Filmmaker Sumathy Balaram’s Niyoga on Sri Lanka Civil War"]. ''The New Indian Express'', August 16, 2017.</ref> She is most noted for her 2015 feature film ''Niyoga'',<ref name=newindian/> and her performance in the 2025 short film ''Karupy''.<ref>C.J. Prince, [https://thefilmstage.com/10-must-see-short-films-at-tiff-2025/ "10 Must-See Short Films at TIFF 2025"]. ''The Film Stage'', September 2, 2025.</ref>
Born and raised in Jaffna, she emigrated to Canada in 1989.<ref name=newindian/> She has also directed a number of short films, and was a founder of Uyirppu Progressive Tamil Women Artistic Organization, a theatre company that produces and stages plays about Tamil women.
For ''Karupy'', she won the award for Outstanding Performer in a Canadian Short Film at the 2025 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival,<ref>Andrew Tracy, [https://playbackonline.ca/2025/11/06/montreal-my-beautiful-wins-best-canadian-film-prize-at-reel-asian/ "Montreal, My Beautiful wins best Canadian film prize at Reel Asian"]. ''Playback'', November 6, 2025.</ref> and received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Performance in a Live Action Short Drama at the 14th Canadian Screen Awards in 2026.<ref>[https://canadianfilmreviewer.ca/2026/03/26/the-14th-canadian-screen-awards-nominations-2026/ "The 14th Canadian Screen Awards Nominations (2026)"]. ''The Canadian Film Reviewer'', March 26, 2026.</ref>
==Filmography== *''Mannamuzh'' (2001) *''Inni'' (2002) *''Uashh'' (2003) *''Manushi'' (2004) *''You2'' (2005) *''To Be Continued'' (2006) *''Pillai'' (2007) *''Niyoga'' (2015)
===Actress=== *''Rooba'' (2017) *''Funny Boy'' (2020) *''The Misadventure of Unlikely Heroes'' (2022) *''Karupy'' (2025)
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{imdb name|7363155}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balaram, Sumathy}} Category:21st-century Canadian actresses Category:21st-century Canadian screenwriters Category:21st-century Canadian short story writers Category:21st-century Canadian women writers Category:Canadian film actresses Category:Canadian women film directors Category:Canadian women short story writers Category:Canadian women screenwriters Category:Sri Lankan emigrants to Canada Category:Asian-Canadian filmmakers Category:Canadian writers of Asian descent Category:Living people