Bhubaneswar: A total of 81 films in different languages were screened at the 12th Indian Film Festival Bhubaneswar (IFFB), which concluded on Sunday.
Some of Satyajit Ray’s iconic films – Kapurush, Ghare-Baire and Agantuk – were screened on the seventh and final day of the festival, organised by Film Society Bhubaneswar.
Babu Eshwar Prasad’s Hariva Nadige Maiyella Kaalu – which chronicles the lives of a discontented photojournalist, a salesgirl and a prisoner – was well received by the audience. After the film ended, the secretary of the society engaged in an interactive session with the filmmaker.
Sadabahar was awarded the Best Student Film for the year at the closing ceremony. Directed by Suyash Kamat, the film depicts the story of a wedding brass quartet in Goa who find themselves falsely accused of robbery.
“The festival has a good curation of Indian cinema, and the solidarity between team members is praiseworthy,” said Ritesh Sharma, whose film Jhini Bini Chadariya was screened on the penultimate day.
Ek Jagah Apni, a film by the Ektara Collective, was screened as the closing film, while the festival concluded with Ray’s Agantuk.
The last day of the festival featured three student films – Amma Lodge by Shivashis Pradhan, Anekantvad by Ikprabh Singh Kohli, and Aalam by Deependra Kumar.
The festival enthralled audiences across different age-groups, adding to the cultural space of the capital city.