Odisha’s Jitendra Mishra on jury panel of prestigious MICE film festival

Bhubaneswar: Odisha-born producer Jitendra Mishra will soon fly to Spain to attend Mostra International Cinema Education (MICE), the most prestigious international film festival on education in Europe.

He is a part of the jury panel that will witness productions related to education by filmmakers, including children as young as 12 years! It is being hosted by the University of Valencia between February 10 and 24 in Valenica.

This young producer from Titlagarh has carved a niche for himself on international arena in alternative method of film production, distribution and promotion. With the objective of presenting independent cinema on a global platform, he promoted 10 films during Cannes Film Festival in France in 2015.

Describing his journey from Odisha to New Delhi and beyond, he said, “I was a complete movie buff as a child. Growing up, I was keen to join the film industry. I was infatuated with Cannes, in particular—the red carpet, the plethora of international cinema, the who’s who associated with it and the glamour. I climbed the ladder from being a production assistant to starting my own production company.”

Apart from producing motion pictures, ad and corporate films, his company provides services such as distribution tie-ups, marketing and promotion, to name a few. He has been a jury member at many international film festivals like Tel Aviv International, Coppenhagen Junior, Brussels International and International Children’s Film Festival of India. For him, film festivals are a platform to engage with all kinds of people from the world of cinema.

A frequent visitor to his hometown in Odisha, Jitendra applauds the energy and passion of filmmakers back home. “Our people are determined and hard working. Our storytelling has a lot of potential, if done right and presented before an audience who will value it from the right perspective,” he opined.

However, he also cited the examples of Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa, which have included film tourism in their tourism policy where the respective governments provide subsidy to production houses for shooting in their states. “Odisha has mountains, beaches, forests, rivers, dams and is no less scenic than any foreign location. We can shoot any grand project here. Moreover, the camera and sound departments in Bollywood are dominated by Odia guys, who did not find adequate opportunities in Odisha and migrated,” he added.