Writer-director Jayant Digambar Somalkar’s debut Marathi feature film Sthal (A Match) opens with a dream sequence. Savita, a young girl in her early 20s, sits with 10 other women in a small room and interviews a potential suitor. She is assertive, the women around her are giggling, and they are free.

Simple, yet far-fetching, the dream remains just that. And it sets the tone for the film ahead. Sthal is the only Indian film to have been selected for the festival’s Discovery Programme this year.