Mohan Niyaz (born Seiyad Lebbe Mohammed Niyaz) is an acclaimed Sri Lankan film director, screenwriter, producer, and Attorney-at-Law, whose career spans over three decades. Raised in Peradeniya, Kandy, Niyaz was an introspective youth deeply influenced by the cinematic grammar of Alfred Hitchcock and Ritwik Ghatak. While studying law at the University of Peradeniya, his lifelong obsession with celluloid led him to shoot his first 35mm short film at just 18 years old.