Festival Press & Media

We love it when our festival gets a shout-out!
Scroll below to see some of our previous coverage from past years.

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Virtual Film Festival Pioneer Indie Meme Hits It's Stride

Indie Meme, Day by Day - Two Weekends of the Best of South Asian Cinema

With their first virtual festival behind them, IMFF is taking on a second over two weekends this month, having grown in staff and scope to embrace a new digital landscape."

- Austin Chronicle, Shane Pfender

Lights, Camera, Austin: IMFF 2021 w/Sweta Rajesh and Ananyaa Ravi

The Indie Meme Team speaks with Robert Sims of Lights, Camera, Austin

Our Programming Director, Sweta Rajesh, and Tech Chair, Ananyaa Ravi, discuss their multi-year journey with Indie Meme - from volunteers to leaders - and what excites them about Indie Meme's history, future, and filmmakers.

Why A Film Festival In Texas Wants To Get People Talking About South Asia - An Interview w/ Programming Director: Sweta Rajesh

Love South Asian Movies? Austin's Indie Meme Film Festival Returns in 2021 for Online Event - Program Highlights

Sixth Annual Indie Meme Film Festival Goes Virtual for 2021

Founded by two visionary women, Alka Bhanot and Tripti Bhatnagar, the award winning festival will allow their audience to stream films & connect (virtually) with filmmakers by participating in live Q&As post-screening – all from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

Indie Meme Film Festival Goes Virtual in 2021

During the early days of the pandemic, the 2020 edition of IMFF lead the way as one of the first festivals to pivot to a virtual event providing safe, live, online, interactive panels and screenings. Tune in again for a stellar lineup of events from April 16-18 and April 23-25, 2021.

The Sixth Annual (and second virtual) Indie Meme Film Festival

-Broadcast Interview with IMFF Co-Founder Alka Bhanot

Alka Bhanot, the co-founder of the Indie Meme Film Festival, explains how you can see screenings of carefully curated South Asian independent cinema.

Austin-Based Indie Meme Film Festival Launches April 16th

Preview: New Film Releases & Festivals (April 13th, 2021)

'Seven and a Half' Honored at Texas Film Festival

Iranian drama “Seven and a Half” won an honorable mention at the Indie Meme Film Festival in Austin, Texas, the Organizers announced on Sunday. The film, written and directed by Navid Mahmoudi, received the honor in the narrative feature category.

Zoom, Cinema, and the Transnational Q&A

.."when the technology is made to work by those who leverage it, possibilities emerge for not just sustaining communities, but bridging them in new ways.

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Thank you to the outlets who have spotlighted our films, shared our work, and spoken with us over the years - you bring valuable conversation & context to our events and our community!

2015- 2020: Indie Meme Press
& Media Archive

3rd March 2020

Austin Chronicle (3.3.2020): Indie Meme Festival Postponed

Aired April 12th 2018

Aired on Thursday, April 12th 2018

RadioKarishma IndieMeme - Tripti Alka

00:00 / 00:00

Spearheaded by Bhatnagar and co-director Alka Bhanot, Indie Meme (April 19-22) will screen 10 feature-length films that are astutely aware of the region's social and political climates. "Indie Meme's journey has been ever evolving and changing," said Bhatnagar. "[It] is more of a movement that's truly driven by the entire community. From the filmmakers who trust us to represent their work, to the audience who come to support the films, everyone has been instrumental in shaping us to where we are today."

In February of 2013, Indie Meme was set up as a product of passion for cinema, and the compulsive desire to make independent films available in the US for everyone and not just the festival goers. There was a need to watch something more rewarding than what was usually available – good meaningful cinema from India. This simple thought led to Indie Meme, which has evolved & grown every day from that first idea, like an organic being living off the environment it is thrown in.

Three films will have their American premieres at the third Indie Meme Film Festival in Austin from April 19 to 22. The fest’s US-based founders Tripti Bhatnagar and Alka Bhanot say their mission is to promote socially relevant independent cinema from South Asia.

Interview:
Alka Bhanot, co-founder & Sai Pramod Mohan, programming director,
Indie Meme Film Festival

Awarded the “Best International Passport -2016” by The Austin Chronicle, the Indie Meme Film Festival continues to grow as the ‘go to’ destination for unique, powerful stories from South Asia. Over the years cinema enthusiasts come to watch the carefully curated programming to experience slices of life from countries like India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afganistan, Iran & more and to mix n mingle with the filmmakers in attendance & be a part of the Indie Meme community.

Abu is an open diary, a heart-wrenching story of life’s love and loss and a young immigrant’s story of identity preservation in the midst of losing everything he grew up knowing. Although vibrant home videos help paint a picture of what is left of Khan’s childhood home in Pakistan, full of life, dancing and love, Khan’s subsequent commentary provides an insightful perspective of the inner turmoil he was dealing with.

Radio Karishma - Interview with Maheen Mirza & Puloma Pal

00:00 / 00:00

Austin’s Indie Meme Film Festival has announced the lineup for their 2018 edition, which features ten features and six shorts from South Asia.

We asked Bhanot and Bhatnagar to tell us a little more about how the festival came to be and what it has to offer

Childhood poverty. Addiction. Growing up gay in a religious environment. The strength of innocence and the power of community. While the films at this week's Indie Meme Film Festival (April 19-22) come from all over South Asia, the themes are truly global. Here's the full film schedule for the four-day celebration of the region's cinema.

A Con Artist, New Parents, and Chess Enthusiasts: Indie Meme’s 3rd Annual Film Festival Brought Stories to Viewers from All Strata of Society.

A Red Carpet event to rival those from Bollywood to Hollywood. However,the honorees had stories to tell of everyday life in South Asia, brought to life with stories that hit close to the heart and actors who could easily be your neighbors, classmates, and colleagues. These films were funny, heartwarming, thought-provoking, and taboo at times. The event brought together talented and inspiring filmmakers with voices, ideas, and passion to reach an audience thirsty for new perspectives, ideas, and most of all voices.

Indie Meme has sensationally cultivated an annual event in which to showcase the success of filmmakers from South Asia. In this instance success is not awards or money, rather the opportunity to tell a story from one's perspective and have it reach a global audience. At the helm of this venture are Alka Bhanot and Tripti Bhatnagar whose leadership brings the South Asian experience to life to the greater Austin area in a way that goes beyond a superficial glance.

Meenaz Lakhani of SOCH news, Dallas in conversation with Tripti Bhatnagar after Indie Meme's screening of Island City in Dallas. Here she is, talking with Tripti of Indie Meme and other viewers.

26th February 2017

Ameiya poyieker for SOCH the news of Dallas online bring an interesting movie #thethreshold talk with Movie viewers. Here Ameiya talking with Tripti Bhatnagar of Indie Meme of who presented this movie to the Dallas community. Threshold is a must watch movie of Neena Gupta.this movie venue was Angelica theatre Plano Texas.
Today dated 8th December 2016 Thursday.

TV Asia's coverage of MOOR

We are honored to be selected as the winner of Austin Chronicle's 2016 Best International Passport Award!

Celebrating underdog filmmakers and voices, Indie Meme’s first festival was a successful passion project that opened Austin’s eyes to South Asia’s exploding cinematic scene.

Read more

See full IMFF 2016 Coverage