Wimal Dissanayake: key obituary facts
Is Wimal Dissanayake dead? Yes. Wimal Dissanayake died on August 7, 2026, at age 86.
Cause of death: Wimal Dissanayake's cause of death has not been publicly confirmed.
What was Wimal Dissanayake known for?
He was a Sri Lankan writer, academic, university professor and film critic.
More about Wimal Dissanayake
Born: 1 January 1939.
Gender: male.
Occupation: film critic, literary critic, academic, writer.
Also known as: Vimal Disānāyaka, Disānāyaka, Vimal.
Wimal Dissanayake, a Sri Lankan writer, literary critic and scholar of Asian cinema and communication theory, died on August 7, 2026, aged 86.
He was known as a creative writer and academic whose work ranged across literary criticism, film criticism and cultural studies. Dissanayake served as a Senior Fellow and assistant director of the Institute of Culture and Communication at the East-West Center in Honolulu, where he also founded the East-West Film Journal.
He later held academic posts in Hong Kong, including Wei Lun Visiting Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and professor of cultural studies at the University of Hong Kong.