Date:05/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/05/stories/2008120550500200.htm

Other States - Orissa

Short, documentary film festival from Dec. 12

Correspondent

The event to focus on films on art from Bangladesh

BHUBANESWAR: The third national festival of short and documentary films on art and artistes will be organised here from December 12 to 15. Being hosted by the Film Forum of the city-based Jatin Das Centre of Art (JDCA), Jayadev Bhawan and IDCOL auditorium would be the venues for the event that would include screenings, exhibitions, panel discussions, workshops and dance and music recitals.

The theme of the festival this year is art from nature and man-made art, informed festival director Bidisha Roy Das. Besides, there would be a special focus on films on art from Bangladesh. Filmmakers, artists and writers from across the country will be attending the festival. There will be stalls by institutions like India Foundation for the Arts, Magic Lantern, Sangeet Natak Akademi, DC Handloom, Bengal Foundation and Orissa Tourism exhibiting their publications, films and various crafts, she added.

JDCA Film Forum is collaborating with the Bengal Foundation in Bangladesh to acquire a collection of films on the theme of the festival while the High Commission of Bangladesh in India, High Commission of India in Bangladesh and other related agencies have been requested for support, Bidisha revealed.

Artist Jatin Das is the brain behind the project and JDCA founder.

The Film Forum Advisory Committee constitutes eminent professionals like Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Shyam Benegal, Aparna Sen, Sharmila Tagore, Aruna Vasudev, Sarat Pujari, Nirad Mahapatra, Nandita Das, Swapan Mullick, Vijaya Mulay Arun Khopkar, Das stated. Orissa’s acclaimed film personalities Manmohan Mahapatra, Susant Misra, Sarat Pujari, Mehmood Husain and Nirad Mahapatra have been the selectors of films from Orissa while the rest of the films have been selected by a committee comprising Jai Chandiram (former Director, Doordarshan, Delhi), Aruna Vasudev (Film historian, Delhi), Sunit Tandon (General Manager, NFDC), U Radhakrishnan (Secretary, IFFS), Ira Bhaskar (Dept. of Art & Aesthetics, JNU, Delhi), Suresh Kohli (Poet & documentary film maker, New Delhi), it was learnt.