The Sri Lankan film industry, also known as "Sethumadava" in Sinhalese, began in the 1940s. Over the years, it has evolved, reflecting the country's social, cultural, and historical changes. School films, a subset of Sri Lankan cinema, gained popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. These films typically depicted the lives of school-going children, tackling themes such as friendship, love, and social issues.