In southern India, a young girl grows up in the lowest caste group of the country but refuses to be defined by it. Her caste group’s occupation is to wash the clothes of other outcastes, menstruating women, and the dead. However, this girl will soon become immortalized as her local deity, Maadathy.

Tamil filmmaker Leena Manimekalai raises piercing questions about the intersection of caste-based oppression and the place of women in society in this poignant social drama. The camera follows its characters from a distance, lending an immersive power to this quietly profound tale.