Bhubaneswar, Sept. 19: A three-day film festival on art and artists was inaugurated in Balangir today as a part of the yearlong golden jubilee celebrations of Lalit Kala Akademi.

The screenings are being held at the Balangir Journalist Association Bhavan. Both documentaries and docu-dramas on legendary artists are being shown at the festival.

The inaugural screening of the festival, was a 20-minute film on the life of legendary artist Muralidhar Tali. The highlight of the day was the second film The Barefoot Pilgrim MF Hussain. The 50-minute feature captures the eventful life of the world-famous painter. The film is by French filmmaker Laurent Bregeat who has beautifully depicted the agony and the ecstasy of Hussain, the bare-foot genius. The last film of the evening was on Ajit Keshari Ray. The pioneer of modernism in Odisha’s art scene, Ray influenced contemporary greats like Dinanath Pathy.

Films on artists MF Hussain and Jamini Roy being showcased in Balangir by regional centre of Lalit Kala Akademi. Telegraph pictures

The three films that are lined up for Saturday are Portrait of a Painter-Jamini Roy, The Very Essence- Sayed Raza and The Inner Eye- Benode Behari Mukherjee. All three artists have left an invaluable mark on the Indian art scenario and have inspired painters for generations. The films on Roy and Mukherjee are around 20 minutes; the one on Raza runs for 45-minutes.

On Sunday, the longest film of the festival will be screened, narrating the life of artist B.C. Sanyal. His notable paintings include The flying scarecrow, Cow herd, Despair and Way to peace, which portrays Mahatma Gandhi with a Hindu and a Muslim child. All these and many other of his artworks will be shown in the hour-long film. The two other short films of the festival will be on Ramkinker Baij and Nandalal Bose.

“We have screened many films on art and artists in Bhubaneswar. Now, we decided to give the art lovers of Balangir a chance to see those films,” said Ramahari Jena, the regional secretary, Lalit Kala Akademi.