Dubai: Timeless Odia films are set to charm audiences with the Odisha Samaj UAE (OSUAE) planning to host a two-day film festival at the India Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
‘Cine Odisha – Timeless cinema of Odisha’ will be held on October 22 and 23, the organisers said.
Odisha is a state in eastern India.
OSUAE, one of the largest associations of Non-Resident Odias across the Middle East and North Africa region, is organising the film festival in collaboration with film producer, promoter and curator from Odisha Jitendra Mishra and his organisation ‘CINEMA4GOOD’.
The objective of the festival is to promote Odisha’s art, culture, language and heritage values through hand-picked movies from the state, said Amiya Kumar Mishra, president of the Odisha Samaj UAE.
He told Gulf News that Consul General of India in Dubai, Dr Aman Puri, will inaugurate the film festival.
What’s playing?
The line-up of movies includes national award winning films including Neeraba Jhada (Manmohan Mahapatra, 1983), Maya Miriga (Nirad Mohapatra, 1984), TARA (Bijaya Jena, 1992), Lavanya Preeti (AK Bir 1993), Indradhanura Chhai (Susant Misra, 1994), Jatra Jeevan Jeevan Yatra (Kapilash Bhuyan, 2005), Kathantara (Himanshu Sekhar Khatua, 2006), Samayara Chhaire (Shankhajeet De, 2017), The Lord of the Universe (Shibu Prusty, 2016), Kalira Atita (Nila Madhab Panda, 2019) and Sala Budhar Badla (Sabyasachi Mahapatra, 2019).
Tributes to veterans
While Cine Odisha intends to celebrate 85 years of Odia cinema, the festival will also pay homage to the film personalities whom the eastern Indian state lost during the past two years due to COVID-19 and other reasons, said Mishra.
Those remembered during the festival will include Manmohan Mohapatra, Bijay Mohanty, Raju Mishra, Sisir Mohan Pati, Deepa Sahu, Netrananda Barik, Gagarin Mishra, Sarada Prasanna Naik, Bijay Mishra, Bachu Mukharjee, Deven Mishra, Ajit Das, Rabi Mishra, Tapu Mishra, Atal Bihari Panda, Amarendra Mohanty, Rabi Shankar Patnaik, Jalal Adeni, Shanti Swarup Mishra, Shantiraj Khosla, and Shantanu Mohapatra.
Panel discussions
Multiple forums and panel discussions to explore opportunities in Odisha are also planned during the two-day fest. Several dignitaries from the industry are expected to be a part of the event.
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“We at OSUAE have been trying to promote Odia culture in Dubai for many years through various cultural events and social activities. We are proud to organise this first-of-its kind-film event at the world’s biggest exhibition platform Expo 2020 Dubai,” said Amiya Kumar Mishra.
Jitendra Mishra said: “Odisha is a storied land of rich art, culture, values and cinema. This land has given birth to numerous great storytellers who have always made us proud at national and international platforms through their incredible work. At the same time, we also have several young talents in the film industry in the state, with outstanding ideas that have high potential in global markets. This is an honest effort to promote path-breaking films and filmmakers from Odisha at global platforms.”
