About Us
Who We are
‘Punchi Actors’ is an initiative that uses drama, art, dance, and other artistic techniques in order to promote social and emotional learning in young children; especially in low-income communities.
The ‘Punchi Actors’ initiative is a non-profit organization that not only shares the passion for acting with children who love it, but also gives these children from different financial and social backgrounds the opportunity to build on skills such as communication, self-confidence, teamwork, self-expression, and follow their dreams.
Founder
Dinara Punchihewa is a performing artist. She completed her formal education at Ladies’ College Colombo where her passion for the arts began at a very young age. She took part in many workshops at LAMDA in the UK, Jagriti in Bangalore, Athul Mongia in Mumbai and Trinity Guildhall Speech and Drama exams which leant to all round practical and theoretical training. She pursued her higher education in a Bachelor of Arts at Queen Mary University of London, where she specialized in Theatre and Drama. Upon returning back to Sri Lanka after her graduation, she took part in many theatre plays and worked as a journalist. Her big break onto the silver screen came by being selected to play the lead role in ‘Gaadi – Children of the Sun’ directed by Prasanna Vithanage which premiered at Busan International Film Festival in 2019. Thereafter she has acted in many movies playing the lead role. Dinara is always thankful to have had all these opportunities, but following one’s dreams is not always possible in Sri Lanka, as most people don’t have the resources or opportunities to do so. Dinara believed that everyone, regardless of their background, should have an opportunity to pursue their dreams and have childhood filled with fun and play. She wanted to be able to share her passion for acting and drama with children from all over Sri Lanka and therefore started the ‘Punchi Actors’ initiative where drama and other artistic tools were used not only for fun and games but also to promote social and emotional learning in young children. She believes in the motto that ‘we can’t help everyone but everyone can help someone.’