Lenin M. Sivam was born in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, and raised in Toronto, Canada. After several years of making short films, Sivam first achieved international recognition with his feature film debut 1999 in 2009, which won critical acclaim winning several film awards both in Canada and around the world establishing Sivam as an emerging Canadian filmmaker to watch for.

Sivam's success continued with his next film, A Gun & A Ring (2013), which was well-received both critically and commercially and made its world premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival in June 2013 and shortlisted for the coveted Golden Goblet Award.

Widely considered to be his best work, Sivam's latest film Roobha (2018) was well-received in many top international film festivals, including Goa, Cambridge, and Montreal, and asserted him as one of the important filmmakers in the world with a unique voice.