2022 VIRTUAL FILMS
The virtual Indie Meme Film Festival, streaming April 22nd - 25th, brings 25+ acclaimed international films to audiences across the US, featuring India's 2021 Oscar Submission, Pebbles, award-winning documentary, A Night of Knowing Nothing, and many more fresh features and shorts to stream at home, including a multi-generational LGBTQ+ program.
NOTE: All films are available US-wide with the exception of Any Day Now, which is only available in Texas.
NOTE: All films are available on demand. You can begin the film anytime April 22-25. Once you press play, you will have a 48 hour watch window to complete your viewing.
ANY DAY NOW
Texas Premiere
Finland I 2020 I Finnish, Farsi, English I 82 mins I dir. Hamy Ramezan
Jussi Award - Best Leading Actor for Shahab Hosseini
An Iranian family in Finland await the final decision on their asylum application. While deportation looms, the everyday stuff of life - days at the lake, neighborhood gossip, quiet apartment dance parties - goes on.
Buy Tickets & Watch Online (TEXAS Only)
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BARAH x BARAH (12 x 12)
India I 2021 I Hindi I 118 mins I dir. Gaurav Madan
Diorama Festival - Best Indian Feature
Following a photographer of the dead in Varanasi, Barah x Barah is poignant look at the life in one of the oldest Indian cities as it undergoes seemingly imperceptible but steady changes.
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BIRIYAANI
India I 2020 I Malayalam I 95 mins I dir. Sajin Baabu
Kerala State Award - Best Actress for Kani Kusruti
A married Muslim woman is forced out of her village when her brother is accused of terrorist connections. She seeks a new home & fulfillment while surviving systems that marginalize her and prevent justice.
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Online Exclusive - only in virtual fest
I AM BELMAYA
Southwest Premiere
Nepal I 2021 I Nepali I 86 mins I dir. Sue Carpenter & Belmaya Nepali
British Independent Film Awards - Nominee Best Documentary
A revolutionary tale of a young Nepali woman’s determination to challenge social norms and transcend the life she was born into, through documentary filmmaking.
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Online Exclusive - only in virtual fest
NOT TODAY
Southwest Premiere
India I 2021 I Hindi I 92 mins I dir. Aditya Kripalani
UK Asian Film Festival - Ray Of Hope Igniting Flame Commendation
Aliah, a Bohri Muslim girl from a traditional family, secretly becomes a Suicide Prevention Counsellor. On her first day, an unusual call comes in, which challenges her to confront why she took on the job in the first place.
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Online Exclusive - only in virtual fest
A NIGHT OF KNOWING NOTHING
Texas Premiere
India I 2021 I Hindi, Bengali/Bangla I 97 mins I dir. Payal Kapadia
Cannes Film Festival - Oeil D'or for Best Documentary
In this docu-drama hybrid, the love letters of a young film student, L, to her estranged lover are juxtaposed with the drastic changes to campus life and the political landscape in India, which result in student protests and uprising.
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PEBBLES (KOOZHANGAL)
Texas Premiere
India I 2021 I Tamil I 75 mins I dir. P.S Vinothraj
IFF Rotterdam - Tiger Award (Top Prize)
Independent Spirit Awards '22 Nominee
A young boy follows his alcoholic father on a quest to find his mother, who has run away from his domestic abuse. The two cross the arid landscape by foot and bus, unsure what will happen at journey's end.
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RK/RKAY
Austin Premiere
India I 2021 I Hindi I 95 mins I dir. Rajat Kapoor
Official Selection - Shanghai International Film Festival, Bucheon Fantastic Film Festival
A frustrated filmmaker can't get his latest feature to click. Things take a turn for the worse when the lead character he also plays runs out of the edit and into real life.
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SHORTS PROGRAM
Shorts Program A - Beyond the End of the World
From sisters surviving a post-apocalyptic Bangladesh to a middle schooler altering reality with her magic eyelashes, these bold, visionary shorts follow characters to the ends of their regular world and beyond.
FEATURING: ​
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Moshari (dir. Nuhash Humayan I 22 mins)
In future Bangladesh, sisters face a vampiric threat.
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Wade (dir. Kalp Sanghvi, Upamanyu Bhattacharyya I 11 mins)​​ In a future version of Kolkata, India, climate change refugees are ambushed by a tiger on the flooded streets.
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Mono No Aware ( dir. Koushik Sarkar I 20 mins)
On a field trip, a girl reflects on life's changes.
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Noor & Layla ( dir. Fawzia Mirza I 13 mins)
Noor & Layla are breaking up. Is it the end of the road for these two Muslim women - or just the beginning?
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Navozande (Le Musicien) ( dir. Reza Riahi I 15 mins)
A story of love, war, and hardship in 13th century Persia.
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Local Middle Schooler (dir. Sanjna Bharadwaj I 11 mins ) A middle schooler's magic eyelashes are coveted by her friends and the US government.
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Shorts Program B - Family Stories - Growing up & Standing Out
From the Himalayan mountains to the US suburbs, the children at the center of these stories are finding, and asserting, their place in the world. Appropriate for general audiences.
FEATURING:
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Grasshoppers Sleep Here (dir. Balaram J I 8 mins)
A mowing man arrives at a field to clear it, only to discover a girl sleeping there, determined to protect the insects.
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Bambirak (dir. Zamarin Wahdat I 13 mins)
8 year old Kati stows away in her father's delivery truck and learns about his life in their new country.
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Baahar ( dir. Prakshi Malik I 14 mins)
A school admission causes tension at a family dinner.
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Hot Chocolate ( dir. Lila Mali I 3 mins)
A son reflects on a family tradition after moving out.
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An Early Spring( dir. Pramati Anand I 38 mins)
A village girl befriends a solo female backpacker.
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Chai ( dir. Arshum Rouhanian I 7 mins)
Iranian siblings opening a chai stand face unexpected competition from the neighbors selling hot chocolate.
Bangladesh, India, Canada, France, Iran, USA I 92 mins I Bengali, Hindi, English w/ English subtitles
India, Germany, Afghanistan, USA I 83 mins I Malayalam, Farsi, Hindi, Pahari, German, Dari, English w/ English subtitles
Shorts Program C - LGBTQ+ Stories- Reaching For Love
Stories of love, family, and connection from the LGBTQ+ community. This year's selections feature both women and non-binary characters and filmmakers.
FEATURING:
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The Song We Sang (dir. Aarti NeharshI 20 mins)​​
Roaming the streets of Ahmedabad, two young women may have the chance to fall for each other.
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A Coup ( dir. Areeba Naveed I 7 mins)
A girl comes out to her biased psychiatrist.
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U for Usha (dir. Rohan Kanawade I 22 mins)
Usha, a single mother in rural India, finds herself drawn to a female teacher in ways she never knew possible.
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Sheer Qorma ( dir. Faraz Arif AnsariI 30 mins)
A non-binary character returns home, seeking to reconnect and with their mother & reach understanding.
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My Mother's Girlfriend (dir. Arun Fulara I 15 mins ) Renuka is in love with another woman, but her adult son, doesn't know. One day, he sees them out celebrating and Renuka's two worlds collide.
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Shorts Program D - A Matter of Survival
An ambitious swimmer in India, an overtaxed social worker in Canada, a blind couple, and more vivid characters face circumstances that challenge their life's path, or even their life itself, and must struggle to survive.
FEATURING: ​
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The Blind Date (dir. Mihir Dhiraj Upadhyay I 17 mins)
A blind couple go on a significant beach date.
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Receiver (dir. Cavan Campbell I 15 mins)
Isolated in the night shift, an idealistic telephone counsellor is confronted by an insidious caller. ​
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Cycle ( dir. Devashish Makhija I 20 mins)
A wronged young tribal woman, in the absence of systemic justice, turns rebel, but struggles to find retribution.
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Testimony of Ana ( dir. Sachin Dheeraj I 24 mins)
A woman recounts the abuse of a modern witch hunt. ​
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Kanya ( dir. Apoorva SatishI 15 mins)
An adolescent girl's aspirations of becoming a competitive swimmer are challenged when she gets her first period.
India, Canada, USA I 91 mins I Hindi,Gujarati, English, Tamil w/ English subtitles
India, Pakistan I 94 mins I Hindi, English, Marathi, Urdu w/ English subtitles