The Sea and Seven Villages directed by Himansu Khatua selected for IFFI 2023
The Sea and Seven Villages directed by Odisha-based filmmaker Himansu Sekhar Khatua selected for IFFI, 2023
Bhubaneswar: The Sea and Seven Villages directed by Odisha-based filmmaker Himansu Sekhar Khatua selected for IFFI, 2023
As a marked achievement, The Sea and Seven Villages has found a place in the 20 Non-Feature films that have been selected to be screened in the Indian Panorama section at 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) from a broad spectrum of 239 contemporary Indian non-feature films.
The package of non-feature films exemplifies the capacity of emerging and established filmmakers to document, investigate, entertain and also reflect contemporary Indian values. The Non-Feature Film Jury, comprising six members, was headed by acclaimed documentary film Director Arvind Sinha. The Non-Feature Jury is constituted by members who individually represent various acclaimed films and film-related professions.
Noted filmmaker Himansu Sekhar Khatua, the present Director of Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) and the Ex-CMD KalingaTV has a number of laurels in his list of innumerable achievements.
‘The Sea and Seven Villages’, a long documentary by the director also been officially selected for two film festivals back-to-back, the International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala and Jagran Film Fest.
The documentary that has been directed by him, ‘The Sea and Seven Villages’ showcases the impact of climate change and its impact on the Satabhaya village cluster. Satabhaya, once a cluster of seven villages and is said to be the first region affected due to climate change. Five villages have been washed away over the passage of time. The documentary depicts the life and struggle of the residents. This long documentary has been produced by Itirani Samanta and presented by Achyuta Samanta under the banner of Kadambini Media.
‘The Sea and Seven Villages’ shall be showcased in the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK), one of the prominent film festivals of India, hosted by the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala.
In addition to this the documentary has also been selected for the Jagran Traveling Film Festival which is organized by Jagran Publishing Group. This film festival will showcase the documentary in different metro cities for hundreds days in eleven states throughout India.
Himansu Sekhar Khatua is deeply rooted to Odisha. He is a native of Khatuapatna in Bhadrak but, he is an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. He started his career as a professional audiographer but later moved into film direction. Khatua moved into film direction independently with his debut film Shunya Swaroopa (Contours of the void) which was showcased in International film festivals including International Film Festival Rotterdam (Netherlands), Kinotavr (Sochi International Film Festival, Russia), Gothenburg Film Festival (Sweden), and Cinema Jove International Film Festival, Valencia (Spain).
Himansu has received National Awards for two of his directed movies Sunya Swaroop and Kathantara in 1996 and 2005 respectively. Other than these Khatua has directed a number of other short films and documentaries which have been well received and appreciated in various national forums.
Ms Kalinga