Indian Film Festival Bhubaneswar opens officially
Bhubaneswar: Film Society Bhubaneswar returns with the 13th edition of Indian Film Festival of Bhubaneswar (IFFB), from 22nd to 28th of January, 2024, at the Odissi Research Centre, Bhubaneswar, bringing in films from across the country.
In the opening address the Honorary President of Film Society Bhubaneswar, Shri Subrata Beura, welcomed the guests and audience to the film festival.
The festival opened with a special screening of Tamil film “Jigarthanda Double X” by Karthik Subbaraj. The film delves into the challenges of artistic questions of film making – structured around a ganglord wanting to make a film and his travails. The film is set in the 1970s Madurai and Chennai – the interstices of Tamil social and political world are examined in the process of making a film.
The opening film of the festival was Ekaa Ekaa, staring the odia film star, Sidhant Mahapatra and directed by filmmaker, Subas Das. The 134 minutes long film explores the journey and struggle of a filmmaker. The screening was then followed by an interactive conversation with the Director and the film actor, moderated by Subrata Beura.
The day continued following independent film screenings and conversations: 2 short films, Shera and My Mother’s Girlfriend by Director Arun Fulara. “My Mother’s Girlfriend” is the story of what happens when two relationships collide. Renuka and Sadiya, two working-class women in love with each other, enjoy their day out celebrating Renuka’s birthday. After a fun-filled day, they head home to spend the night together. But unknown to them, Renuka’s son, Mangesh, is around. He sees them together. In “Shera”, Monu’s obsession with sighting Shera, the elusive leopard living in the forest around his remote Himalayan village, is tested when his parents decide to migrate to the city. As the day of departure nears, Monu grows despondent but his friend Raju is determined to help fulfil his wish.
IFFB’s Mani Kaul Retrospective, featuring seven of his masterpieces, started with the screening of film, “Uski Roti”. The Hindi film, “Uski Roti” by Mani Kaul, set in a village revolving around the story of a young wife waiting for her long-distanced truck driver husband.
Over the course of the festival, there will be post-screening conversations with the directors Haobam Paban Kumar, Harshad Nalawade, Subas Das, Aman Sachdeva, Rajni Basumatary, Don Palathara and Bobby Sharma Baruah. The conversations aim to explore the artistic processes of the film makers and elaborate the working methods to a larger audience. We hope to inspire younger people from our town to film making through the screenings and listening to practitioners of cinema.