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.
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.
The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) is the oldest, most prestigious film festival screening premieres of feature, documentary and
short films made from, of, and about the Indian subcontinent in the Independent, arthouse, alternate and diaspora genres.
