Writing, directing and production career
In 1992, Jena made her directoral debut with the Odia language film, Tara. She co–wrote the script and produced the film and also played the title role. [3] Tara was based on a short story by Bimal Dutt, who was the main scriptwriter. Tara was completed with a budget of approximately US$20,000, which Jena borrowed from family members and national and state government agencies. The film received the 1992 National Award for Best Odia Film. The president of the jury, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, described Jena as a promising director. Tara screened at the 1992 Festival International du Cinema Au Feminin in Marseille, France, and at the 1992 Cairo International Film Festival.
Jena's second film, Abhaas (1997) is in the Hindi language. Jena acted, scripted, directed, and produced the film. The film's budget was approximately US$60,000. The film's script advisor was István Gaál. Abhaas was screened at the 1997 Festival International du Film de la Rochelle, France; the 1997 Penang Film Festival, Malaysia and the 1997 Cairo International Film Festival. In 2013, Abhaas was telecast on BBC Channel 4, BBC as part of the "100 Years of Indian Cinema" celebration. It was also shown by the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation in October 2014.
In 2016, Jena plans to make a film Danapani ("The Survivor"). Jena wrote the script adapted from the Odia novel by late Gopinath Mohanty. The script was approved by the India National Film Development Corporation. [4]
In 2022, following her stint as part of the international jury panel at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Jena began working on her first English language short film, Winter Interlude with an international crew including the likes of Estonian actor, Ott Aardam and composer Gene Pritsker.
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