Bhubaneswar: The first-ever film festival showcasing Odia cinema outside India was held at the EXPO 2020 Dubai.
The two-day festival, which ended on Saturday, was organized by Odisha Samaj UAE (OSUAE) in collaboration with internationally acclaimed film producer from Odisha Jitendra Mishra and his organisation CINEMA4GOOD.
Consul General of India in Dubai Dr Aman Puri, Consul (Visa and Community affairs) Uttam Chand and Tomas Zaleski inaugurated off the event. National award-winning filmmakers Sabyasachi Mahapatra and Susant Mishra, along with other filmmakers from Odisha and UAE were present at the opening ceremony.
The organizers paid tribute to 21 eminent personalities from the Odisha film industry who passed away during the last two years. They included legendary filmmakers Manmohan Mahapatra, Sarada Prasanna Naik, Raju Mishra, and actors Bijay Mohanty, Ajit Das, Rabi Mishra, Atal Bihari Panda.
A panel discussion titled ‘Odisha — The storied land of opportunities’ was also organized.
“We are proud to be hosting this momentous event in the Prestigious India Pavilion of Expo 2020. This is a very proud moment for the Odia community of the UAE and the people of Odisha too,” said Odisha Samaj UAE president Amiya Kumar Mishra.
“I am thankful to the entire Odia community for bringing positivity during this difficult time, I am privileged to be a part of this pathbreaking initiative together with a larger Odia family staying in UAE,” said Jitendra Mishra.
He informed that the objective of the festival was to promote Odisha’s rich art, culture, language and heritage values through handpicked films from the state.
National and international award-winning feature and non-feature films like Maya Miriga, Neeraba Jhada, Labanya Preeti, Indradhanura Chhai and Sala Budhar Badla were showcased during the two-day festival.
