in the past few years marathi films have gained international recognition at several film festivals and prestigious award shows the films have not been only lauded for their cinematic brilliance but also for depicting the incredible stories of the human spirit this year the indian film festival of melbourne iffm has curated a thoughtprovoking and criticallyacclaimed marathi lineup that includes both feature and short films to promote and celebrate marathi cinema on an international platform the lineup of marathi films karkhanisanchi waari awakash kadugod sthalpuran vrutti salana jalsa gosht eka kaavlyachi and kumkumarchan depicting powerful stories have been selected for the australian premiere at the iffm a still from vruttikarkhanisanchi waari ashes on a roadtrip directed by mangesh joshi starring amey wagh mohan agashe geetanjali kulkarni mrunmayee deshpande pradeep joshi ajit abhyankar and vandana gupte is a slice of life film that is applauded for its take on the indian joint family system awakash by chittaranjan giri starring ashwini giri laxmi birajdar and nachiket devasthali is an introspection of familial relationships that question the inherited cultural values karkhanisanchi waari features amey wagh mohan agashe geetanjali kulkarni mrunmayee deshpande pradeep joshi ajit abhyankar and vandana guptekadugod bittersweet by ananth narayan mahadevan featuring akshaya gurav suresh vishwakarma smita tambe anil nagarkar guru thakur and asit redij is a modern take on the ageold slavery system showcasing labour exploitation sthalpuran chronicles of space by akshay indikar borders on magic realism where an eightyearold boy seeks refuge from loneliness through his diary entries the ensemble includes neel deshmukh anushree wani sonia mahale rekha thakur shashank shende shrikant patil medha patil gajanan zarmekar and deepa moghe salana jalsa is a comingofage story of three teenagersvrutti human nature helmed by s ashwin is a poignant tale of caste discrimination explored through a friendship of two adolescent boys this story is brought to life by a collective effort of jeetu goswami piyush thakare krushna thakur aditya pawar alka parab meera joshi anurag worlikar sanjeev dhuri bhagyashri rao supriya prabhumirashi omkar shirgaonkar ganesh ghadi amit jambhekar sunil holkar mukund pathak jaipal more dharam chauhan poornima phuse jyoti keskar and dr sunil wani following suit pratik thakares debut salana jalsa annual day starring ankita nikrad aniruddha deodhar and shridhar kulkarni is a comingofage story of three teenagers the events revolve around the annual day where they share their hopes and dreams with each other gosht eka kaavlyachi directed by manthan khandake manoj bhise that stars rudra bandagale smital chavan sanchita joshi manoj bhise varad chavan is a fresh take on the theme of menstrual hygiene is highlighted through the story of a mother and son another narrative that revolves around the relationship of a mother and son is abhijeet arvind dalvis short film kumkumarchan holy ritual that stars bandu zinzurke vidya joshi raoshaeb alkute nanabhau more jaydeep fand madane and shubham ghodke