Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust

Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust

India, France, Germany | English | 2024 | 103 mins | Dir. Ishan Shukla

Ishan Shukla’s SCHIRKOA: IN LIES WE TRUST is an animated film that transports you to a future society where nothing is as it seems. Some things about Schirkoa feel familiar, including businessmen with bad habits, globalized urban landscapes, and ties of love and passion. However, everything is put into question when one councilman falls for someone he shouldn’t, and uncovers the true corruption, greed, and control running Schirkoa. Once he makes a key discovery, the fabric of society threatens to collapse on him. With voice acting from Asia Argento, Anurag Kashyap, and Gaspar Noé, this edgy Orwellian tale will haunt as much as it challenges our current notions of culture, civilization, and what the future holds.

This film will be preceeded by the short film:

A door to my memory

Pakistan | Punjabi | 2025 | 15 mins | Sheryar Ali

In this Punjabi sci-fi / drama based in a dystopian Lahore where memories are stored on external drives, we meet 65 year old Ashfaq who is still relying on older technology that is readily available and affordable for the masses. In order to make new memories he has to delete old ones because of limited storage. A relative visiting from abroad introduces him to a much more sophisticated and expensive piece of tech that is commonly used in the west that doesn’t require you to delete older memories. This makes Ashfaq hopeful that he may just be able to hold on to memories of his late wife that he holds near and dear to him. But the hope slowly starts vanishing as Ashfaq’s journey makes him realise, this fancy new tech is far beyond his reach. Simultaneously, we dive into those very memories Ashfaq is clinging on to, and explore the life he used to live with his wife, the events that led to his current situation, and why these memories mean so much to him.

Virtual Q&A with Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust writer-director Ishan Shukla

The film will begin promptly at the time listed. Please show up early to ensure that you are in the theater 5 minutes before the film starts - we don't air 15 minutes of commercials.

Thank you to our community partner for this screening:

Indie Meme is supported in part by the City of Austin Office of Arts, Culture, Music and Entertainment

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