NEERAJ GWAL
Neeraj Gwal is a self-taught filmmaker from Bhilai Chhattisgarh, India. Coming from a humble background his father worked as an engineer and his mother is a homemaker. He spent most of his early days playing outside and watching mainstream Bollywood films. He was average in academics but brilliant in arts and Co-curricular.  At an early age of 5, he performed first time on the stage and from then he enacted and directed many plays up until his college.
The lack of awareness and opportunities in the city got him enrolled in an Engineering College and theatre got lagged. After a year he got a chance to visit Mumbai to see his elder brother. Mumbai gave him time and opportunity to explore his Artistic axis/edge again. There he joined a Theatre group and realized that he wants to become a Filmmaker. As a typical middle-class small-town parent, his father disagreed with the decision but Neeraj continued somehow. 
He didn't learn filmmaking formally but started working with people, in the initial days he used to work for free as he says 'I was working for knowledge, not money. During that period, he didn't know anyone in the industry, so finding work was quite a task. He faced many rejections but he kept himself motivated.
As an artist, attempting to find his voice, he wrote and directed 4 short films and 3 documentaries. Then he decided to move on to the larger format, that's when the idea of the film "4 SUM" came in. He plotted the film extensively in Bhilai, as he thoroughly knew his roots.
He wasn't finding a suitable producer for the script then he and his elder brother decided to produce it themselves. Gathering a passionate team for a tight-budget feature film was very tough but the determination and passion for filmmaking kept him going and "4 SUM" came into existence. 
"4 SUM" is already been recognized internationally & has been selected in as many as Seven International Film Festivals to date. Neeraj Gwal also won the Best Director award for "4 SUM" in Top Indie Awards 2019, in Tokyo and also in Darbhanga International Film Festival 2021.

"4 SUM" also became the Best Feature Film at Darbhanga International Film Festival. 
"4 SUM" is now looking for the release early this year. Neeraj has already started working on his second feature film and looking to explore narratives that form a cinematic expression to stories less told and faces less seen.