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In a remote Kashmiri village, Karun, a reserved security guard, forms a forbidden bond with Faheem, a man torn between tradition and desire. Through stolen glances, online flirtation, and secret visits, their connection forces them to confront their beliefs and loyalties. Faheem’s angry brother and a society drowning in conflict clash with their tenderness, embodying the tension of a conservative culture and challenging their love in ways they never expected. But Karun’s hope shines in his eyes, just as his love does. October 5, 2025 at 6:00:00 PM AFS Cinema We Are Faheem & Karun India | Narrative Feature 2024 | 75 mins | Kashmiri Q&A with filmmaker Onir The film will be proceeded by a live musical performance by Ramesh Srivastava (of Voxtrot). TICKETS TICKETS Best Director, UK Asian Film Festival 2025 Onir and co-writer Fawzia Mirza venture into the complex terrain of Kashmir with this quiet love story that finds poetry in the most unlikely circumstances. Set in Gurez, a remote border region of Kashmir, We Are Faheem & Karun follows an unexpected connection between Karun, a young security officer from Kerala on his first posting, and Faheem, a local student. Their romance develops through lingering glances and shared moments against the backdrop of one of the world's most militarized regions. Rather than sensationalizing its setting, Onir captures Kashmir as a place where people live, love, and dream despite ever-present tensions. Anchored by emotionally rich performances from Akash Menon and Mir Tawseef, this groundbreaking film treats its characters as people first, not symbols. Produced by Deepa Mehta, We Are Faheem & Karun offers a work both intimate and political, proving that the most personal stories often carry the deepest universal truths. Restoration Process About the Artist Onir is an Indian filmmaker, producer, screenwriter, and editor born in Bhutan. He is best known for his film "My Brother... Nikhil" (2005) , based on the life of Dominic D'Souza, starring Sanjay Suri, Juhi Chawla, and Purab Kohli. It was one of the first mainstream Hindi films to deal with AIDS and same-sex relationships. He won the Indian National Film Award for Best Film (Hindi) in 2011 for the anthology "I AM". This film is considered one of the first and largest crowd-funded and crowd-sourced films through social media in India. The film dealt with single motherhood, child sexual abuse, displacement, and LGBTQI+ rights. In March 2024, Onir’s "Pine Cone" screened at BFI Flare, a queer love story written by Ashwini Malik and Onir. It is loosely based on Onir’s memoir "I Am Onir and I Am Gay", which he co-wrote with his sister Irene Dhar Malik and was published by Penguin Viking. Onir’s directed one of the 4 stories of the anthology “My Melbourne” which was shot in Melbourne by 4 Indian film makers with an Australian cast and Crew telling stories of diversity and inclusion. Onir’s "We Are Faheem & Karun” had its international premiere at BFI Flare (March 2025) Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Onir Writer: Onir Fawzia Mirza Producer(s): Onir Deepa Mehta Film Editor: Irene Dhar Malik Onir Featured Cast: Akash Unimenon Mir Tawseef Bashir Lone Mir Salman Sana Javeid Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

It explores the tradition of arranged marriage in rural India, where a girl's marriage overshadows the very sustenance of life. Narrated from the perspective of a young girl, Savita, it highlights the patriarchy rooted in society. April 20, 2024 at 11:15:00 PM AFS Cinema Texas Premiere Sthal (A Match) India | Narrative Feature 2023 | 104 mins | Marathi In-Person Q&A with Filmmaker Jayant Somalkar and Producer Shefali Bhushan Screens with Next, Please TICKETS TICKETS Toronto International Film Festival 2023 (NETPAC Award) 22nd Pune International Film Festival 2024 (Best Marathi Film, Best Screenplay) Sthal explores the tradition of arranged marriage in rural India, where a girl's marriage overshadows the very sustenance of life. Narrated from the perspective of a young girl, Savita, it highlights the patriarchy rooted in society. Restoration Process About the Artist Born in a village in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, Jayant Digambar Somalkar is an engineering graduate, but his creative bent of mind made him veer towards filmmaking. His debut short film, ‘Iyatta - Class,' showed at many film festivals and won many awards. He has co- written and co-directed the critically acclaimed Amazon Prime Video Original Series 'Guilty Minds’. ‘Sthal - A Match’ marks the director's debut feature, showcasing his talent for storytelling and commitment to presenting social issues in an authentic and compassionate manner. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Jayant Digambar Somalkar Writer: Jayant Digambar Somalkar Producer(s): Shefali Bhushan, Karan Grover, Riga Malhotra, Jayant Somalkar Film Editor: Abhijit Deshpande Featured Cast: Nandini Chikte, Taranath Khiratakar, Sangita Sonekar, Suyog Dhawas, Sandip Somalkar, Sandip Parkhi, Swati Ulmale, Gauri Badki, Mansi Pawar Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

After the death of the family patriarch, a mother and daughter’s precarious existence is ripped apart by figures from their past. They must find strength in each other if they are to survive the malevolent forces that threaten to engulf them. April 18, 2024 at 8:45:00 PM AFS Cinema Virtual May 3 - May 5, 2024 Texas Premiere In Flames Pakistan, Canada | Narrative Feature 2023 | 98 mins | Urdu TICKETS TICKETS Cannes Directors Fortnight 2023 Sitges International Film Festival Mariam lives with her younger brother and their mother, Fariha, in a tiny apartment in Karachi. When Mariam’s maternal grandfather passes, his brother tries to manipulate them into signing over their apartment to him, a common occurrence in Pakistan, where women’s property rights are fragile. Mariam’s mother, grieving and isolated, is easy to influence. Mariam, distraught by her mother’s foolishness, finds solace in a secret romance with a fellow student, Asad. When their relationship takes an unexpected turn, Mariam becomes consumed by nightmares. Meanwhile, her mother, caught between her coercive Uncle and a murky legal system, is oblivious to her daughter’s deteriorating mental state. Mariam’s nightmares begin to bleed into reality. Mother and daughter must come together if they hope to overcome the real and phantasmal forces that threaten to engulf them. Restoration Process About the Artist Zarrar Kahn is an award-winning Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker whose film IN FLAMES premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival as part of the Director’s Fortnight. His works have been screened and awarded in over 100+ film festivals, including TIFF, Locarno, and BFI London. In Flames, his feature directorial debut, has garnered critical acclaim and prizes worldwide - including the Golden Yusr for Best Picture at Red Sea FF and the Grand Prize - International Newcomer Award at Mannheim-Heidelberg FF. Born in Karachi, and currently based out of Toronto, Kahn is committed to telling stories that amplify historically marginalized communities. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Zarrar Kahn Writer: Zarrar Kahn Producer(s): Anam Abbas Film Editor: Craig Scorgie & Zarrar Kahn Featured Cast: Ramesha Nawal, Omar Javaid, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Adnan Shah Tipu, Mohammad Ali Hashmi, Jibran Khan Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The life of a young glassblower in training and his relationships over the years, as his land goes through war and strife. April 12, 2025 at 5:45:00 PM AFS Cinema Texas Premiere The Glassworker Pakistan, Spain, USA | Narrative Feature 2024 | 98 mins | English, Urdu Recorded Q&A with writer-director Usman Riaz Preceded by the short films Da'Lit Kids and Ouroboros . TICKETS TICKETS International South Asian Film Festival of Canada Annecy Intl. Animation Film Festival Hong Kong Kids International Film Festival A young, gifted Vincent and his father Tomas run the finest glass workshop in the country and find their lives upended by an approaching war in which they want no part. The arrival in their town of an army colonel and his young aspiring violinist daughter, Alliz, shakes their reality and tests the relationship between father and son. As the love develops between Vincent and Alliz, they will need to gather up their courage to confront their fathers. Restoration Process About the Artist Usman Riaz is the Co-Founder of Mano Animation Studios, Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animation studio. A multifaceted talent, Usman has made significant strides in various creative fields. A recipient of a full scholarship at Berklee College of Music, Usman’s musical journey is marked by his albums ‘Flashes & Sparks’ and ‘Circus in the Sky,’ both released with EMI Pakistan. His prowess extends to filmmaking, having written, directed, and scored notable short films like ‘RUCKUS’ and ‘The Waves,’ with the latter being an Official Selection at the 2013 New York City Independent Film Festival. His ambitious project, ‘The Glassworker,’ showcases his storytelling and animation skills, promising to be a significant addition to his portfolio. Under Usman’s leadership, Mano Animation Studios has become a beacon of cultural storytelling and artistic excellence. The release not only marks a significant moment in Pakistani cinema but also elevates traditional animation on the global stage, showcasing its enduring charm over transient CGI trends. Usman Riaz’s artistic contributions continue to inspire a new generation of creators and storytellers worldwide. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Usman Riaz Writer: Moya O’Shea Usman Riaz Producer(s): Film Editor: Featured Cast: Art Malik Sacha Dhawan Anjli Mohindra Tony Jayawardena Teresa Gallagher Mina Anwar Sham Ali Maya Saroya Nila Aalia Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A man undergoes a mysterious transformation as a flowering plant begins to grow from his mouth, forcing him to confront his evolving relationship with his teenage daughter and the delicate balance between change and acceptance. Eventive Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Indie Meme Special 10th Year Retrospective Showcase North America Premiere Flowering Man India | Short 2023 | 24 mins | Hindi TICKETS WATCH ONLINE Limited tickets available on site. "Paridrishya" International Festival of Short Films and Documentaries Karnataka Symbiosis Film Festival International Festival for Short Documentary & Fiction Films- Best Director Award in the Short Fiction category JIO MAMI year Round Programme, Goa In The Flowering Man, a middle-aged man experiences an inexplicable transformation when a delicate flowering plant begins to sprout from his mouth. As the phenomenon takes hold, he struggles to understand its significance while navigating his relationship with his teenage daughter. What begins as a surreal affliction soon becomes a profound metaphor for growth, acceptance, and the silent emotions that often go unspoken between loved ones. Through striking visuals and an evocative narrative, the film explores themes of metamorphosis, human connection, and the quiet resilience found in embracing change. Film Heritage Foundation used the best surviving elements for the restoration – the original camera negative and the 35 mm print preserved at the NFDC – NFAI. Unfortunately, the sound negative was not available. We digitized the sound from the 35 mm print preserved at Film Heritage Foundation. The film elements were repaired by the Film Heritage Foundation conservators and the scanning was done in Prasad Lab in Chennai We found that due to the deterioration of the print, there were vertical green lines on many parts of the film. While the scanning and digital clean-up was done at Prasad under the supervision of L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, the grading, sound restoration and mastering was done at the lab in Bologna. Both Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, the cinematographer of the film, have been involved in the restoration of the film. Restoration Process Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation The screening will be preceded by a performance by Specific Thing. Specific Thing is the project of local musician Román. Sometimes he plays by himself and sometimes he plays with his snazzy band — he loves to do both! And the music? It draws from folk, punk, pop, latin, communism, animals, friends... He likes to keep it cartoony, quick, and catchy. The band released an album in 2025 called "Now Is Actually Not A Good Time". Find more at @specificthing on Instagram. Meet Specific Thing About the Artist Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar is an Indian filmmaker known for his thought-provoking storytelling and unique cinematic vision. He studied Direction and Screenplay Writing at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), graduating in 2017. Dastidar's short film, The Flowering Man (2023), has garnered critical acclaim and was showcased at the 16th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK). The film explores the metamorphosis of a man who begins to grow a flowering plant from his mouth, symbolizing his transition and evolving relationship with his teenage daughter. In addition to The Flowering Man, Dastidar has directed other notable works, including Taap - About Mercury Rolling Down the Bodies (2020) and Whispers of the Henna Tree (2021). Dastidar's films often delve into themes of identity, transformation, and human relationships, reflecting his commitment to exploring complex narratives through cinema. Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Trailer Credits Crew: Director: Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar Writer: Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar Producers: Film & Television Institute of India Film Editor: Arirtra Majumdar Featured Cast: Tanishka Meesala Rajeev Gaur Singh Maitreyaa Trilok Khairnar Restoration Effort Led By: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation Restoration Credit: Restored by Film Heritage Foundation in association with Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul), the cinematographer Govind Nihalani and the director Shyam Benegal. Funding supported by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul) Thank you to our community partners for this screening!

At 40 years old, Leila has spent her life caring for her parents and four brothers. Caught up in debts worsened by the economic sanctions in Iran, the family argues constantly. As her brothers try to make ends meet, Leila charts a plan for elevating the family's wealth. April 13, 2023 at 10:15:00 PM AFS Cinema Texas Premiere Leila's Brothers Iran | Narrative Feature 2022 | 165 min | Farsi, Persian TICKETS TICKETS Winner of the prestigious FIPRESCI Prize at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival At the age of 40, Leila has spent her entire life caring for her parents and four brothers. The family argues constantly and their burdensome debts grow ever more worrying as economic sanctions buffet Iran. While her brothers are struggling to make ends meet, Leila makes a plan. Restoration Process About the Artist Saeed Roustaee was born in Iran in 1989. After graduating from Soore University with a Bachelor's Degree in Cinematography, he first directed three short films, then a documentary which won over 100 awards worldwide. His feature debut LIFE AND A DAY (2016), won 'Best Directing' and 'Best Screenplay' awards at the Fajr International Film Festival, the main film festival in Iran, along with several prizes in international festivals. His second feature, JUST 6.5 (2019), premiered at Venice Orrizonti. It was nominated for the César Award for Best Foreign Film and won the Best Director Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Saeed Roustaee Writer: Saeed Roustaee Producer(s): Saeed Roustaee Javad Noruzbegi Film Editor: Bahram Dehghan Featured Cast: Tarane Alidousti Saeed Poursamimi Navid Mohammadzade iPayman Maadi Farhad Aslani Nayereh Farahani Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Mehdi Hosseinina Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

New father Imran has regrets about the last conversation he ever had with his father. So when he gets the opportunity to go back in time and end things on a better note, Imran jumps at the chance to get the parenting advice he sorely misses now that he has his own son. But this is Pakistani time travel, and we’re never on time. Imran is sent back too far - all the way back to 1993, where he meets his parents in their early twenties, exactly when they’re pregnant with him as new immigrants in a foreign land. Filmocracy Virtual April 28 - May 1, 2023 Desi Standard Time Travel Canada | Short 2022 | 20 mins | English TICKETS TICKETS Restoration Process About the Artist Kashif Pasta is an award-winning director, writer, and producer using film and storytelling to tell character-driven stories centered on South Asian and Muslims with a sense of joy and wonder. He is the co-founder of Dunya Media, a production company that empowers filmmakers of color to tell stories with purpose, where he recently won the 2022 SXSW Grand Jury Prize and Audience Awards- Music Video as a producer. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Kashif Pasta Writer: Kashif Pasta Producer(s): Film Editor: Featured Cast: Adolyn H. Dar, Ali Kazmi, Anika Zulfikar Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Kennedy is an insomniac ex-cop, long though to be dead... still operating for the corrupt system, while looking for redemption. April 11, 2025 at 10:00:00 PM AFS Cinema Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Indie Meme Special 10th Year Retrospective Showcase Special Screening Kennedy India | Narrative Feature 2023 | 144 mins | Hindi Live Q&A with writer-director Anurag Kashyap TICKETS WATCH ONLINE Limited tickets available on site. 1. Festival de Cannes - France 2. Sydney Film Festival - Australia 3. Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival - South Korea (Republic of Korea) Kennedy is an insomniac ex-cop, long though to be dead... still operating for the corrupt system, while looking for redemption. Film Heritage Foundation used the best surviving elements for the restoration – the original camera negative and the 35 mm print preserved at the NFDC – NFAI. Unfortunately, the sound negative was not available. We digitized the sound from the 35 mm print preserved at Film Heritage Foundation. The film elements were repaired by the Film Heritage Foundation conservators and the scanning was done in Prasad Lab in Chennai We found that due to the deterioration of the print, there were vertical green lines on many parts of the film. While the scanning and digital clean-up was done at Prasad under the supervision of L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, the grading, sound restoration and mastering was done at the lab in Bologna. Both Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, the cinematographer of the film, have been involved in the restoration of the film. Restoration Process Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation The screening will be preceded by a performance by Specific Thing. Specific Thing is the project of local musician Román. Sometimes he plays by himself and sometimes he plays with his snazzy band — he loves to do both! And the music? It draws from folk, punk, pop, latin, communism, animals, friends... He likes to keep it cartoony, quick, and catchy. The band released an album in 2025 called "Now Is Actually Not A Good Time". Find more at @specificthing on Instagram. Meet Specific Thing About the Artist Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation The most influential Indian filmmaker of recent times with a superlative career including more than 50 films as a Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Editor and Actor. He was awarded the Knight of the order of Arts and Letter by the French government, in 2013, when India was the guest country at Cannes Film Festival, to commemorate 100 years of Indian Cinema. He is also one of the Directors of Netflix's first India show called Sacred Games, and also various films like Choked, and short films for the anthologies - Lust Stories & Ghost Stories, for them. He was voted as one of the top 50 influential Indians by India Today, a leading Indian current affairs magazine, and continues to bring change to the Indian Film Industry. Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Trailer Credits Crew: Director: Anurag Kashyap Writer: Anurag Kashyap Producers: Ranjan Singh Kabir Ahuja Film Editor: Tanya Chhabria Deepak Kattar Featured Cast: Rahul Bhat Sunny Leone Mohit Takalkar Abhilash Thapliyal Megha Burman Restoration Effort Led By: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation Restoration Credit: Restored by Film Heritage Foundation in association with Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul), the cinematographer Govind Nihalani and the director Shyam Benegal. Funding supported by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul) Thank you to our community partners for this screening!

A girl is trying to hide certain things from society, but an incident forces her to become stronger to keep her family intact. Eventive Virtual May 3 - May 5, 2024 International Premiere Chhaya India | Short 2023 | 18 mins | Marathi, Konkani TICKETS TICKETS Chhaya tells a story of a very poor girl from a remote village in the interiors of Maharashtra. Circumstances there force her & others mature at a young age. The girl is striving to hide certain things from society, but an incident forces her to become stronger to keep her family intact. Restoration Process About the Artist Pushkar Shrotri is well known writer-director from Marathi Film Industry. His films Haay Kaay... Naay Kaay and Ubuntu have received tremendous appreciation globally. He is known for his simple but thought provoking subjects through his films. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Pushkar Sudhakar Shrotri Writer: Pushkar Sudhakar Shrotri Producer(s): Omkar Hardikar, Pushkar Sudhakar Shrotri, Fable Factory Film Editor: Ashish Mhatre Featured Cast: Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A globe-spanning anthology film, comprised of seven short stories directed by women from across the world.S hot in Italy, India, Japan, and the U.S. - each segment is an inspirational and empowering story by and about women. April 15, 2023 at 11:30:00 PM AFS Cinemas Tell it Like a Woman Italy, USA, India, Japan | Narrative Feature 2022 | 112 min | English, Italian In-Person Q&A with Director Leena Yadav TICKETS TICKETS 2022 Academy Award Nominee for 'Best Original Song' Tell It Like A Woman is a globe-spanning anthology film, comprised of seven short stories directed by women from across the world. Shot in Italy, India, Japan, and the U.S, each segment is an inspirational and empowering story by and about women. Restoration Process About the Artist Leena Yadav an Indian film director, screenwriter and editor. She is known for her first international feature, PARCHED (2015), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, as well as the hit NETFLIX docu-series HOUSE OF SECRETS: THE BURARI DEATHS (2021). Catherine Hardwicke is an American film director, production designer, and screenwriter known for THIRTEEN, LORDS OF DOGTOWN, TWILIGHT, and MISS YOU ALREADY. Taraji P Henson is a Golden Globe & Screen Actors Guild award winning actress known for her roles in HIDDEN FIGURES, EMPIRE, HUSTLE& FLOW and TEH CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Mipo O is a Japanese film director, screenwriter, and commercial director known for her feature films including BEING GOOD and THE LIGHT SHINES ONLY THERE. She has been recognized with the Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award . Lucía Puenzo is an Argentinian author and film director. She studied at the University of Buenos Aires followed by the National Film Institute. She is known for her acclaimed features, XXY, THE GERMAN DOCTOR, and DIVE. Maria Sole Tognazzi is an Italian director of television and film known for her feature projects including PAST PERFECT, A FIVE STAR LIFE, and ME, MYSELF, & HER - the first Italian feature-length lesbian romantic comedy. Silvia Carobbio is known as an Director and Line Producer. Lucia Bulgheroni is an Italian animation director. After working in commercials, regularly blending live action and stop motion techniques, Lucia completed an MA in Directing Animation at the National Film & Television School in London. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Catherine Hardwicke Taraj i P. Henson Lucía Puenzo Leena Yadav Maria Sole Tognazzi Mipo O Silvia Carobbio Lucia Bulgheroni Writer: Catherine Hardwicke Lucía Puenzo Tatiana Menenuk Mipo O Giulia Louise Steigerwalt Leena Yadav Shantanu Sagara Krupa Ge Chiara Tilesi Lucia Bulgheroni Silvia Carobbio Producer(s): Lucas Akoskin Monika Bacardi Andrea Iervolino Chiara Tilesi Film Editor: Josie Azzam Anne-Sophie Bion Featured Cast: Cara Delevingne Marcia Gay Harden Eva Longoria Jennifer Hudson Margherita Buy Anne Watanabe Pauletta Washington Marcia Gay Harden Jasmin Luv Leonor Varela Jacqueline Fernandez Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

As legions of birds fall from New Delhi’s darkening skies, and the city smolders with social unrest, two brothers race to save a casualty of the turbulent times: the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to their city's ecosystem. April 12, 2023 at 10:15:00 PM AFS Cinemas All That Breathes India, USA, United Kingdom | Documentary 2022 | 94 min | Hindi TICKETS TICKETS Winner of Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival Awards for 'Best Documentary' (2022) In one of the world’s most populated cities, two brothers — Nadeem and Saud — devote their lives to the quixotic effort of protecting the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to the ecosystem of New Delhi that has been falling from the sky at alarming rates. Amid environmental toxicity and social unrest, the ‘kite brothers’ spend day and night caring for the creatures in their makeshift avian hospital. Director Shaunak Sen (CITIES OF SLEEP) explores the connection between the kites and the Muslim brothers who help them return to the skies, offering a mesmerizing chronicle of inter-species coexistence. Restoration Process About the Artist Shaunak Sen is a filmmaker and film scholar based in New Delhi, India. CITIES OF SLEEP (2016), his first feature-length documentary, was shown at various major international film festivals (including DOK Leipzig, DMZ Docs and the Taiwan International Documentary Festival, among others) and won 6 international awards. Shaunak received support from the IDFA Bertha Fund (2019), the Sundance Documentary Grant (2019), the Catapult Film Fund (2020), the Charles Wallace Grant, the Sarai CSDS Digital Media fellowship (2014), and the Films Division of India fellowship (2013). He was also a visiting scholar at Cambridge University (2018) and has published academic articles in Bioscope, Widescreen and other journals. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Shaunak Sen Writer: Producer(s): Shaunak Sen Aman Mann Teddy Leifer Florrie Priest Film Editor: Charlotte Munch Bengtsen Featured Cast: Nadeem Shehzad Mohammad Saud Salik Rehman Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Amber, a happiness agent, travels the Bhutanese Himalayas surveying people's happiness. On his remote mountain journey, he searches for fulfillment. April 13, 2025 at 3:30:00 PM AFS Cinema Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Indie Meme Special 10th Year Retrospective Showcase Agent of Happiness Bhutan, Hungary, USA, Czech Republic | Documentary 2024 | 94 mins | Dzongkha, Nepali, English Recorded Q&A with Director Arun Bhattarai TICKETS WATCH ONLINE Limited tickets available on site. Jury and Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary - IMFF 2025, Austin, USA Sundance Film Festival 2024 71st Sydney Film Festival 2024 MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024 How can you measure happiness? The country of Bhutan invented Gross National Happiness to do just that, and Amber is one of the agents who travels door to door to meet people and measure how happy they really are. He is still living with his elderly mother at the age of 40, but is nevertheless a hopeless romantic who dreams of finding love: a happiness agent who is in search of his own happiness. We embark with Amber on a cross-country road trip meeting citizens from all walks of life, reminding us of the fragility and beauty of our own happiness. No matter where we live. Film Heritage Foundation used the best surviving elements for the restoration – the original camera negative and the 35 mm print preserved at the NFDC – NFAI. Unfortunately, the sound negative was not available. We digitized the sound from the 35 mm print preserved at Film Heritage Foundation. The film elements were repaired by the Film Heritage Foundation conservators and the scanning was done in Prasad Lab in Chennai We found that due to the deterioration of the print, there were vertical green lines on many parts of the film. While the scanning and digital clean-up was done at Prasad under the supervision of L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, the grading, sound restoration and mastering was done at the lab in Bologna. Both Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, the cinematographer of the film, have been involved in the restoration of the film. Restoration Process Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation The screening will be preceded by a performance by Specific Thing. Specific Thing is the project of local musician Román. Sometimes he plays by himself and sometimes he plays with his snazzy band — he loves to do both! And the music? It draws from folk, punk, pop, latin, communism, animals, friends... He likes to keep it cartoony, quick, and catchy. The band released an album in 2025 called "Now Is Actually Not A Good Time". Find more at @specificthing on Instagram. Meet Specific Thing About the Artist Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Arun Bhattarai (director, cinematographer, co-producer, Bhutan) premiered his first feature-length documentary ‘The Next Guardian’ (co-directed by Dorottya Zurbó) - an intimate family story set in Bhutan - at IDFA in 2017. The film has been screened at more than 40 international festivals (True/False, Ambulante, SFFILM, MoMA DocFortnight etc.). Before becoming an independent filmmaker, he worked as a TV director at the Bhutan Broadcasting Service for 5 years. He graduated from the first edition of DocNomads Joint Master in documentary directing in 2014. His recent short documentary ‘Mountain Man’, about Bhutan’s only glaciologist won the best pitch prize at If/Then Global Short-Pitch at IDFA 2019 and is supported by the IDA-XRM Media incubator program. The film has been screened at IDFA, DOC NYC, Chicago IFF etc. His new film ‘Agent of Happiness’ is supported by the Sundance Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund and DMZ Docs Fund among others. The project was developed at the Points North Fellowship 2022, True False Rough Cut Retreat 2023 and Doc.incubator 2023. He established his own production company - Sound Pictures - dedicated to creative documentaries in 2015. He is one of the few independent documentary filmmakers in Bhutan. Dorottya Zurbó (co-director, Hungary) premiered her first feature-length documentary ‘The Next Guardian’ (co-directed by Arun Bhattarai), - an intimate family story set in Bhutan - at IDFA in 2017. Since then, it has been screened at more than 40 international festivals (True/False, San Francisco IDFF, MoMA DocFortnight etc.). Parallelly, she worked on her first directorial debut ‘Easy Lessons’, a feature-length documentary about a young Somalian refugee girl who tries to adapt to Hungary, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival Critics Week section in 2018. The film participated in more than 40 international festivals (HotDocs, Camden IDFF, Sarajevo IFF etc.) receiving awards such as the Hungarian Critics Award for Best Documentary in 2019. Her new film ‘Agent of Happiness’ is supported by the Sundance Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund and DMZ Docs Fund among others. The project was developed at the Points North Fellowship 2022, True False Rough Cut Retreat 2023 and Doc.incubator 2023. Besides filmmaking, she has been teaching at the prestigious DocNomads Joint Master program in Europe. Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Trailer Credits Crew: Director: Arun Bhattarai Dorottya Zurbó Writer: Producers: Noémi Veronika Szakonyi Máté Artur Vincze Arun Bhattarai Film Editor: Péter Sass Featured Cast: Amber Kumar Gurung Sarita Chettri Guna Raj Kuikel Hemlata Gurung Yangka Lhamo Wangmo Lhamo Dophu Dem Dechen Selden Tshering Lham Tshering Tashi Tshomo Karma Lhamo Kezang Yuden Karma Wangdi Restoration Effort Led By: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation Restoration Credit: Restored by Film Heritage Foundation in association with Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul), the cinematographer Govind Nihalani and the director Shyam Benegal. Funding supported by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul) Thank you to our community partners for this screening!