The new film from Rajnesh Domalpalli, "Vanaja," is a stunning accomplishment on two levels. First, that such an assured debut could come from a first-time writer-director, and secondly that a cast of non-actors could perform it so movingly and confidently.

Submitted as his graduate thesis at Columbia University, "Vanaja" is winning awards and earning accolades from some pretty heavy hitters on the film festival circuit, even garnering a best feature debut at the prestigious Berlin Film Festival.

That's no small feat for what is essentially a student film. Domalpalli has produced a work that implies remarkable promise for his future. It is at once epic and personal.

Inspired by a child's scream in the film "Sophie's Choice," Domalpalli let his story percolate for a few years, bending and twisting into what eventually became "Vanaja." His themes of mother-child separation, ambition and the crippling curse of class are interwoven into this masterful tragedy about a girl's coming of age.

In a devastatingly poor village in rural southern India, Vanaja dreams of becoming a dancer of Kuchipudi, a classical Indian dance form from Andhra Pradesh, a state of south India.

Having lost her mother at a young age and living with a broken and drunken father, 15-year-old Vanaja is forced into labor to help pay her father's debts. She is hired to the household of wealthy local landlady Rama Devi, who was once a famous Kuchipudi dancer. Inspired by the girl's cheekiness and determination, the landlady decides to mentor her in music and dance.

When Rama Devi's hunky 23-year-old son, Shekhar, returns from the U.S. to possibly run for local political office, the stage seems set for a life-affirming rags-to-riches love story.

Domalpalli has other plans for us, though, and the film quickly turns into a pitch-dark indictment of the caste system, where even the brightest of dreams are crushed under its weight. There is no Hollywood or Bollywood redemption here.

After a nasty incident involving Shekar, the clash between public face and private agony becomes the battleground on which Vanaja must summon all of her strength to survive. Her dramatic struggle gives the film its power and its heartbreak.

Using authentic locations and gritty cinematography, the film achieves an immediacy and rawness rarely seen in mainstream cinema.

The most remarkable aspect of the film, however, is the cast. All non-actors from working-class lives, they have a naturalness in front of the camera that is a wonder to behold. With no previous experience, they manage to give depth to their roles that a seasoned professional would envy.

Young Mamatha Bhukya as Vanaja is a particular revelation. With no background in acting or dance, she carries the bulk of the film on her back, giving an emotionally wrenching performance that is simply extraordinary. The rest of the cast is equally amazing.

With its somber tone and heady themes, "Vanaja" is a bleak view into a world where one's station in life is truly damning. It may not be not the feel-good story viewers want, but it is a story that needs to be told and seen nonetheless.