Sthal + Chunaav

Sthal

Director: Jayant Digambar Somalkar

Cast: Nandini Chikte, Taranath Khiratkar, Sandip Somalkar, Sandip Parkhi, Sangita Sonekar, Suyog Dhawas

Language: Marathi

Length: 1 hour 44 minutes

Year Of The Film: 2023

Premiere status:

World Premiere

NETPAC Award

MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023

Mumbai, India

October 31, 2023

Synopsis:

In a village in India, a determined young girl, Savita, yearns for education and a brighter future. However, as her farmer parents anxiously struggle to find a suitable match for her, societal expectations place immense pressure on her to prioritize marriage over personal aspirations.

Being dark-complexioned and short in height, Savita is seen as an added ‘burden’ on her parents and ‘marrying her off’, as difficult as finding fair price for their crop. Facing countless rejections from potential suitors, she must navigate a world where the pursuit of marriage overshadows the very sustenance of life.

Shot on real locations with real people from the village, all non-actors, Sthal (A Match) is the director's debut feature film that explores the tradition of arranged marriages in rural India while highlighting patriarchy, colorism and social evil deeply rooted in society.

Director: Jayant Digambar Somalkar

Born in a village in the Vidarbha region of India, Jayant Digambar Somalkar is an engineering graduate, but his creative bent of mind made him veer towards filmmaking. He began his career as an assistant on TV ads and corporate films. Then he started writing for several popular TV comedy shows and kid’s animation shows.

His debut short film, 'Iyatta- Class,' was a part of many national and international short film festivals and also won several awards.

He has co-written and co-directed the Amazon Prime Video Original Series 'Guilty Minds,' which received critical acclaim and was recognized as one of the best Indian series of 2022.

'Sthal - A Match’ is Jayant’s debut Marathi feature film which he has written, directed and co-produced. The film is shot mostly in his own native village, Dongargaon and the cast consists of real people from the village, all non-actors.

Chunaav

Director: Avinash Shriram Shembatwad

Cast: Divya Raut, Nanaji Kawade

Year Of The Film: 2023

Language: Hindi

Length: 13 minutes 59 seconds

Premiere status:

Mumbai International Short Film Festival

PUNE, India. Best social film

Synopsis:

Chunaav is a story of a naxal affected tribal village in Chandrapur where Naxalite call for boycott of General elections. One old man decides to stand against all to save democracy.

Director: Avinash Shriram Shembatwad

Director Avinash Shembatwad is a civil servant working as executive magistrate (Tahsildar) in Jiwati taluka, a remote areas in the deep forests of Chandrapur. Chunaav is his first short film, in which all the actors are from local tribal community with no acting background.

Host or Publisher Indo-American Arts Council