Biography
Vidu Gunaratna was born on February 24, 1980 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In 1989, his family was forced to flee to Germany because of the civil war. In 1990, after the Velvet Revolution, they settled in The Czech Republic.
A Master's graduate in Cinematography from FAMU (The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague). Holds a Dean's award for excellent results in studies and meticulousness in preparation of artistic projects. A Full member of the Czech Society of Cinematographers (AČK) since 2013 and elected into the Board of the AČK two years later.
Vidu was the first Czech cinematography student to shoot a film, Non-Swimmers in DC4K. In Hospodářské noviny, Vidu was chosen as one of the most talented young Czech cinematographers by Academy Award winning cinematographer Jaromír Šofr AČK. Non-Swimmers won The Czech Lion – Magnesia Award, the highest Czech film award for best student picture. Vidu is an Assistant Professor at FAMU's Cinematography department since 2017, where he teaches colour grading and mentors student films.
As director of photography, Vidu has lensed two feature films, over 30 shorts, several TV series and numerous documentaries, commercials and music videos.
Fluent in Czech, English, German and speaks some Sinhala. He is vegetarian and likes to spend his free time with photography. Single and living in Prague.
Awards
- Best Cinematography — Amanitas (Directed by Jakub Šmíd), FAMUFest, 2014
- Jaroslav Kučera Award — Association of Czech cinematographers Award given to FAMU students, 2014
- Talent of the Year — Hospodářské noviny, nominated by Academy Award winning DOP Jaromír Šofr AČK, 2011
- FAMU Dean's Award — For excellent results in studies, 2010
Contact
Phone +420 723 806 423E-mail vidumg@icloud.com
