12th JD Centre of Art International Film Festival begins in Odisha

KalingaTV News Network

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday inaugurated the 12th International Film Festival on Art and Artist, which is presented by the city-based Jatin Das Centre of Art (JDCA) at IDCOL auditorium here. The three-day festival will continue till January 14.

Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister appreciated the JDCA for its efforts to promote Odisha’s rich art and artists.

“Imaging the art and artists is one of the significant endeavours to preserve, document, evaluate, renew and improve these art forms in order to save them for the prosperity as a source of inspiration. The continued efforts of JDCA in this direction are praiseworthy,” he said.

“The journey of Odia film started in 1936 with the production of ‘Sita Bibaha’, coinciding with the creation of Odisha as a separate state and a synergy between language, literature and filmdom,” he added.

The Film festival will showcase films short, long, narrative, documentary, animation, and film essays along with the panel discussions, lectures, and workshops.

As many as 39 films of 11 countries in 15 foreign languages, 12 Odia films and 12 films in other Indian languages will also be screened during the film festival.

The international award winning films like ‘Maya Miriga’, ‘Ahalyara Bahaghara’, ‘Mayurbhanj ra Chhau Nrutya’, ‘Dhauligiri ra Shanti Stupa’ and ‘Pattachitra’ directed by late Nirad Mohapatra, veteran director in Odia cinema, will be screened as part of paying tribute to him.

Among the films, Iranian film ‘The Salesman’ by Asghar Farhadi, Argentinian film ‘The Secret in Their Eyes’, Swiss film ‘My Life as a Zucchini’ by Claude Barrass, Tom Lowe’s ‘Timescapes’, ‘Lakshmi ra Abhisara’ directed by Raj Gopal Mishra, Gurvinder Singh’s ‘Chauthi Kuta’, Satyajit Ray’s ’Shatranj Ke Khiladi’ and Nirmal Chandra’s ‘The Face behind the Mask’ will be screened during the festival.

An exhibition showcasing traditional handicrafts, handlooms, and art books can be seen at the festival.

The JDCA was established by renowned artist and Padma Bhushan awardee Jatin Das in 2006.