17th Sarasaviya Awards
The 17th Sarasaviya Awards festival, presented by the Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Limited, was held to honor the best films of 1989 Sinhala cinema on April 30, 1990, at the Elphinstone Theater, Maradana, Sri Lanka. President Ranasinghe Premadasa was the chief guest at the awards night.
The film Sagara Jalaya Madi Haduwa Oba Sanda won most number of awards with twelve awards including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress.
Awards
| Category | Film | Recipient |
| Best Film | Sagara Jalaya Madi Haduwa Oba Sanda | Harsha Kumara Navaratne |
| Best Director | Sagara Jalaya Madi Haduwa Oba Sanda | Sumitra Peries |
| Best Actor | Sandakada Pahana | Ravindra Randeniya |
| Best Actress | Sagara Jalaya Madi Haduwa Oba Sanda | Swarna Mallawarachchi |
| Best Supporting Actor | Sagara Jalaya Madi Haduwa Oba Sanda | H. A. Perera |
| Best Supporting Actress | Satana | Sriyani Amarasena |
| Best Emerging Actress | Dilani Abeywardana | |
| Best Script Writer | Sagara Jalaya Madi Haduwa Oba Sanda | Lester James Peries |
| Best Cinematographer | Newatha Api Ekwemu | Merceline S. Perera |
| Best Cinematographer | Chandingeth Chandiya | M. A. Gafoor |
| Best Editor | Sagara Jalaya Madi Haduwa Oba Sanda | Lal Piyasena |
| Best Art Direction | Gedara Budun Amma | Lionel Silva |
| Best Makeup Artist | Newatha Api Ekwemu | Bennett Jayatunga |
| Best Sound Effects | Satana | George Manatunga |
| Best Music Direction | Sandakada Pahana | Premasiri Khemadasa |
| Best Lyricist | Sandakada Pahana | Rambukana Siddhartha Thero |
| Best Male Playback Singer | Sandakada Pahana | Sunil Edirisinghe |
| Best Female Playback Singer | Durga | Neela Wickramasinghe |
| Most Popular Film | Satana | Ananda Wickramasinghe |
| Most Popular Actor | People's vote | Sanath Gunathilake |
| Most Popular Actress | People's vote | Geetha Kumarasinghe |
| Most Popular Emerging Actress | People's vote | Sureni Senarath |
| Rana Thisara Award | contribution to Sinhala cinema | K. A. W. Perera |
| Rana Thisara Award | contribution to Sinhala cinema | Freddie Silva |
| Merit Awards | Newatha Api Ekwemu | Jeevan Kumaratunga |
| Merit Awards | Gedara Budun Amma | Roy de Silva |
| Merit Awards | Sagara Jalaya Madi Haduwa Oba Sanda | Sunil Hettiarachchi |
| Merit Awards | Angulimala | Sithara Priyadarshani |
| Merit Awards | Sandakada Pahana | Susira Rathna Kumara |
| Category | Film |
| Popular films selected by readers | - |
| Popular films selected by readers | Satana |
| Popular films selected by readers | Durga |
| Popular films selected by readers | Sandakada Pahana |
| Popular films selected by readers | Sagara Jalaya Madi Haduwa Oba Sanda |
| Popular films selected by readers | Angulimala |
| Popular films selected by readers | Newatha Api Ekwemu |
| Popular films selected by readers | Chandingeth Chandiya |