The Oriya Directors often portray the tradition and culture of Orissa through their films. Like elsewhere in India art house cinema revived by the New Cinema gifted the state with a talented group of Oriya directors several directors have contributed in establishing Oriya films as an important sector.

Biplab Ray Chaudhury is a veteran filmmaker. He was an outstanding film editor too. He made flicks such as Chilika Teeray (1977), Aranya Rodana (1993), and Nirbachana (1995). These films deal with several social issues. Another Oriya director who was a stalwart is Nirad Mohapatra. He made the art films of Orissa a name to be reckoned with amongst the cine goers. His first film was Maya Mrigaya (1984). Being one of the most original films in India it is popular for its realistic approach. Related to Nirad Mohapatra, Manmohan Mohapatra has made 5 feature films in Oriya. He is a stalwart amongst the most well known Oriya art film directors of the 1980s. His first film is Sheeta Rati (1982). His films generally deal with socio political condition of the sub continent. In 1984 his second film was released. Neeraba Jhada was appreciated for its social subject. He also directed Klanti Aparanha, Majhi Pahacha and Trisandhay.

Apurba Kishore Bir or AK Bir is another noted Oriya director who graduated from FTII in Pune. Till date he has made five Oriya films. His first film was Adi Mimansa (1991) and then went ahead to make Lavanya Preeti (1993), Aranyaka (1994), Shesha Drushti (1997) and The Last Vision. In 1999 AK Bir returned to his first passion, films for children, with Nandan. The film was named after the whimsical and adventurous young hero of the story.

Susant Misra is a promising Oriya director. Exploring the cultural and religious substratum of India, his film, Indradhanura Chhai (1993) was showered with accolades in the Cannes Film Festival. His other films were Biswaprakash, which was named after the hero. His films portray the rapid transformation taking place in the Oriya social structure and the effect it is having on the traditional values.

Other directors in Orissa film industry are Surya Misra, Sujit Kumar, Bijoy Bhaskar, Sushil Mukherjee, Bijay Mohanty and others.