Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government’s Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) Department on Saturday organised ‘Samarthya 2026’, a national short film festival showcasing the talent, confidence and achievements of persons with disabilities.
The festival, held at the MMIT Auditorium here, brought together filmmakers, artists, government officials and social workers to highlight stories that challenge stereotypes surrounding disability and portray persons with disabilities as achievers and contributors to society.
Unlike earlier editions that primarily focused on creating awareness about disability, this year’s festival placed emphasis on confidence, success and the positive contributions of persons with disabilities, the department said.
The festival received 62 entries from across the country, including 20 national-level and 42 regional films. Following a two-stage evaluation conducted by RR Events and Cine Production, 38 films were shortlisted for the final screening.
Each film was restricted to a maximum duration of five minutes to ensure focused and impactful messaging. The films also incorporated audio description and sign language to make the screenings accessible to persons with visual and hearing impairments.
A jury headed by veteran cinematographer Jugal Debata, along with Tripura Mishra and disability rights activist Jitendra Biswal, selected the winners.
In the national category, ‘Tune of Life’ and ‘Medal’ jointly won the Best Film award. ‘Tune of Life’ also secured awards for Best Director, Best Actor for Sahu Jaysinghrao Sabekar and Best Prop Use.
‘A Little Big Dream’ was adjudged Best Film by the Panel Expert Committee and also won the Best Cinematography award, while ‘Plea’ won awards for Best Story/Screenplay and Best Actress for Atreyee Banerjee.
In the Odia category, ‘Antardrashti’ and ‘Leak’ jointly won the Best Film award. ‘Leak’ also bagged awards for Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Actor for Bikram Keshari Mohanty and Best Actress for Deepika Tripathi.
‘Antahswara’ received the Special Awareness Award, while ‘Chandrarohana’ and ‘The Wheel’ were honoured by the Panel Expert Committee.
Bhubaneswar Mayor Sulochana Das, SSEPD Special Secretary Rajani Jani, Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Bratati Harichandan and Financial Advisor Jayashree Tripathi attended the festival.
Festival Brand Ambassador and actor Sheetal Patra, senior SSEPD officials and students from various educational institutions were also present at the event.
