The National Level Short Film Festival – Samarthya 2026 concluded in Bhubaneswar on September 5, bringing together short films and filmmakers from across India on a platform dedicated to stories highlighting the abilities, achievements and contributions of persons with disabilities.
Organised by the Social Security & Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) Department, Government of Odisha, the festival was held at the MMIT Auditorium, Bhubaneswar.
The festival featured both a National Category and a Regional Category – Odia, with films receiving recognition across several areas of filmmaking, including Best Film, Direction, Story and Screenplay, Cinematography, Acting, Use of Props, Technology and special awards. The official award sheets released for Samarthya 2026 show that the National Category had joint winners for Best Film, while Antardrushti and Leak shared the Best Film honour in the Odia category.
‘Tune of Life’ and ‘Medal’ Share National Best Film Award
The biggest honour in the National Category went jointly to ‘Tune of Life’ and ‘Medal’, according to the official Samarthya 2026 award list. The Best Film recognition was awarded to Ganesh Fuke from Pune for Tune of Life and Pruthwi Raj from Hawda for Medal.
Tune of Life was among the most recognised films in the National Category, collecting honours in multiple categories. The film won Best Director, Best Use of Prop and a joint Best Actor – Male award, apart from sharing the Best Film honour.
National Category – Complete Winners
The official National Category award sheet lists the following winners:
- Best Film: Tune of Life & Medal
- Best Film by Panel Expert Committee: A Little Big Dream
- Runner-Up: Out of Sync & Plea
- Best Director: Tune of Life – Akash Manohar Fuke, Pune
- Best Story & Screenplay: Plea – Debanuj, Hoogly
- Best Cinematography: A Little Big Dream & Medal
- Best Use of Prop: Tune of Life – Team Fuke Films, Pune
- Best Actor – Male: Tune of Life – Shahu Jaysingrao Savekar, Pune
- Best Actor – Male: Resurrection – Saikat & Trinath of Team Somnath Dutta, Bhubaneswar
- Best Actor – Female: Plea – Atreyee Banerjee, Hoogly
- Best Use of Technology: The Super Hero (VFX Film) – Tarang Plus (Somio R)
The official award sheet also identifies Nilesh Pandey & Pigzen Angchok from New Delhi and Falgu Satapathy / Rowda Production from Khurda, Odisha in connection with the Best Cinematography awards for A Little Big Dream and Medal.
‘Antardrushti’ and ‘Leak’ Share Best Film in Odia Category
The Regional Category – Odia produced an equally competitive result, with ‘Antardrushti’ and ‘Leak’ jointly receiving the Best Film award.
The official award sheet identifies Antardrushti as “Antardrusti (Story of Bhimsen Maharana)” and lists Arabinda Jena & Diptimayee Behera as the award recipients. Leak is also listed under the joint Best Film award, with Dipti Barik named as the recipient.
Antardrushti tells the story of eminent sitarist Bhimasen Moharana. The film was produced by Arabinda Jena Production and Diptimayee Behera, with Arabinda Jena as its director.
Leak, meanwhile, was produced by Dipti Barik and directed by Amaresh Pati and Tribhuban Panda.
Both films therefore emerged as joint Best Film winners, while Leak went on to receive several additional awards in the Odia category.
‘Leak’ Wins Multiple Major Awards
After sharing the Best Film honour, Leak received recognition in several other categories. The film won Best Director, with Amaresh Pati and Tribhuban Panda receiving the honour. It also won Best Cinematography, which went to Karunakar Sahu.
In the acting categories, Bikram Keshari Mohanty won Best Actor – Male for Leak, while Dipika Tripathy (Dipika) received the Best Actor – Female award for the film. The multiple awards made Leak one of the most decorated films in the Regional Category – Odia at Samarthya 2026.
Complete Odia Category Winners
The official award sheet lists the following results for the Regional Category – Odia:
Best Film – Joint
- Antardrushti (Story of Bhimsen Maharana) – Arabinda Jena & Diptimayee Behera
- Leak – Dipti Barik
Runner-Up
- Sakhigopal Express
- Adamya Ghungura
The award sheet lists Ishita Urbii and Sai Swarup Dey among the award recipients.
Best Director
- Leak – Amaresh Pati & Tribhuban Panda
- Chandrarohan – Gouri Sankar Das
Best Story & Screenplay
- Adamya (Story of Basanti Rana)
- Douda Jayanti Douda
Award recipients listed are Pallabi Priyadarshini Patra, Cuttack, and Supriya Rout, Bhubaneswar.
Best Cinematography
- Leak – Karunakar Sahu, Cuttack
Best Use of Prop
- The Wheel (Chaka)
- Misson Sakhyama
Award recipients include Team AAINA and Gyana Ranjan Sathua, Bhubaneswar.
Best Actor – Male
- Leak – Bikram Keshari Mohanty, Bhubaneswar
- Swapna – Manmay Dey (Artist), Balasore
Best Actor – Female
- Leak – Dipika Tripathy (Dipika), Bhubaneswar
- Sakhigopal Express – Jasmin Mishra, Bhubaneswar
Special Award – Advocacy & Awareness
- Antahswara
The award was presented to Anusuiya Dash Choudhury & Siba Prasad Mohanty, Bhubaneswar.
Best Film by Panel Expert Committee
The official award sheet lists:
- The Wheel (Chaka)
- Chandrarohan
- Samarpana
The listed recipients include Secretary – AAINA, Lalitendu Das & Team, Bhubaneswar, and Digambara Sipu, Balasore.
62 Films Submitted for Samarthya 2026
Samarthya 2026 attracted participation from filmmakers across India. According to reports on the festival, 62 films were received, comprising 20 national-level films and 42 regional films.
Following a two-stage evaluation conducted by RR Events and Cine Production, 38 films were selected for the final screening. The short-film format itself presented a creative challenge, with participating films limited to a maximum duration of five minutes.
The festival also placed emphasis on accessibility. Films incorporated features such as audio description and sign-language interpretation, helping audiences with visual and hearing impairments engage with the screenings.
Cinema as a Platform for Inclusion
Samarthya 2026 was built around the idea of using cinema to present stories about persons with disabilities in a positive and empowering manner.
Instead of focusing only on limitations or difficulties, the festival sought to highlight confidence, achievement, talent, resilience and contribution to society.
This approach gave filmmakers an opportunity to explore disability through different genres and storytelling techniques while also encouraging audiences to look beyond conventional stereotypes.
The combination of filmmaking and accessibility also made the festival significant from an inclusion perspective.
Jury and Recognition
The winners were selected by a jury headed by veteran cinematographer Jugal Debata. The jury also included Tripura Mishra and disability rights activist Jitendra Biswal. The event brought together representatives from the government, creative industry and social sector, along with filmmakers, artists, students and other participants.
Among those associated with the event were Bhubaneswar Mayor Sulochana Das, SSEPD Special Secretary Rajani Jani, Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Bratati Harichandan and Financial Advisor Jayashree Tripathi. Actress Sheetal Patra, who is associated with the festival as its Brand Ambassador, was also present.
A Celebration of Short Films and Inspiring Stories
The conclusion of Samarthya 2026 brought recognition to filmmakers from Odisha and several other parts of India. In the National Category, Tune of Life and Medal shared the Best Film honour, while A Little Big Dream, Plea, Out of Sync, Resurrection and The Super Hero also received recognition across different categories. In the Odia category, Antardrushti and Leak shared Best Film, with Leak additionally winning awards for direction, cinematography and acting. Other films including Sakhigopal Express, Adamya Ghungura, Adamya, The Wheel, Misson Sakhyama, Swapna, Chandrarohan, Samarpana and Antahswara were also recognised.
More than simply an awards programme, Samarthya 2026 demonstrated how the short-film format can provide filmmakers with a powerful way to communicate stories of ability, determination, achievement and inclusion.
With filmmakers from different regions coming together in Bhubaneswar, the festival also provided a platform for diverse voices and encouraged greater visibility for inclusive storytelling through cinema.
Disclaimer
This article is prepared for informational and entertainment purposes based on publicly available reports and the official Samarthya 2026 award information. Film titles, award results and credits have been presented based on the information available from these sources. Odisha Katha does not claim ownership of third-party photographs, logos, trademarks or copyrighted materials mentioned in this article. Details may be updated if the organising authority subsequently issues any clarification or revised information.
