The State Government on Saturday announced to organise an international film festival in the State during the coming winter season.
A decision to this effect was taken at a high-level preparatory meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary JK Mohapatra at the Secretariat. Information and Public Relations (I&PR) Secretary PK Jena outlined the issues for discussions.
Mohapatra advised Jena to organise the festival during the months of November-December. It was decided that the festival would be held simultaneously in the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Use of the RRl, KITT and XIMB auditoriums was suggested at the meeting.
The Odisha State Film Development Corporation (OSFDC) and the I&PR and Culture Departments would jointly organise the festival. The OSFDC was advised to prepare an archive of good Odia films, both of the traditional and modern realms.
In yet another decision, Mohapatra directed the two departments to plan holding of Odisha Festivals in metro cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad. These events would be organised in collaboration with the respective Odia People’s Associations. A steering committee was constituted for the purpose. The committee would make the plans and budgets for the
festivals.
I&PR Director Pradipta Kumar Mohapatra and Deputy Director Pramod Mallik and senior officers from the OSFDC and Culture Department participated in the discussions.