April 25, 2026 at 1:00:00 PM AFS Cinema Texas Premiere Showtime USA 2025 Live Q&A with writer-director Vivek Menon and producer Aman Bains Followed by the film Letters From Wolf Street TICKETS BUY A BADGE Chicago South Asian Film Festival Silicon Valley Asian Pacific Film Festival On the day of her first open mic performance, Maya struggles to balance her day job and her dreams when a simple ask from her mom spirals out of control and sends her across New York City. Restoration Process Film restoration process Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation About the Artist Ever since he was a teenager, Vivek Menon has been passionate about telling unfamiliar stories with a comedic heart focused around minority characters in situations that audiences haven’t seen before. His foray into directing began with a 4-episode web series he wrote, directed and produced with his father through a crowdfunding campaign in 2023 (released on YouTube). Now an independent filmmaker based in New York City, his debut short film Showtime was completed in 2025. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Vivek Menon Writer: Vivek Menon Producer(s): Aman Bains Film Editor: Gopal Bala Featured Cast: Shefali Gauri Harsh Milan Thank you to our community partners for this screening!

A father decided to revenge a lawyer who rapes his teenage daughter. Eventive Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Indie Meme Special 10th Year Retrospective Showcase Texas Premiere Dadresi (The Claimant) Iran | Short 2024 | 20 mins | Persian TICKETS WATCH ONLINE Limited tickets available on site. Fajr International Film Festival, Iran - Winner Best Short Film Tehran International Short Film Festival, Iran - Winner Best Direction Accolade Global Film Competition, United States - Winner Best Woman Filmmaker “Claimant" is about a father who discovers that his teenage daughter was assaulted and raped, so he decides to confront and punish the rapist, but since the culprit is a very proficient lawyer he uses laws in a way that he not only escapes from justice but also legally make the father the criminal. 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 I was born in 1979. I studied cinema and dramatic literature in art university and I received my PHD in art research. For many years I was mostly active in academic fields and I taught interdisciplinary courses between art and humanities in universities such as the Art university of Tehran. In recent years I have increased my artistic activities such as screenwriting. I had rewritten the script of "Conjugal Visit" (2021) (directed by Omid Shams). Claimant is my first short film as a writer and director. Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Trailer Credits Crew: Director: Nadereh Sadatserki Writer: Nadereh Sadatserki Producers: Film Editor: Featured Cast: 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!

To chase her dream of going to school in her remote Himalayan village, a feisty paraplegic girl locks horns with her unyielding, tra¬dition-bound grandfather. Chuskit India | Feature | 90 Minutes | Ladakhi with English Subtitles, 2018 4/14/2019 | 4:00 - 6:00 pm This feature will be preceded by a short film - GUBBARE The Youth Program prior to Chuskit features short student films about the #metoo movement - parental discretion advised ATTEND SYNOPSIS To chase her dream of going to school in her remote Himalayan village, a feisty paraplegic girl locks horns with her unyielding, tradition-bound grandfather. Sprightly Chuskit’s dream of going to school is cut short when she is rendered a paraplegic after an accident. She’s confined to life indoors in the company of her strict grandfather, Dorje. Chuskit continues to harbor hopes of school but Dorje tries to make her understand that school can’t handle her needs. As life at home gets harder, her battle with her grandfather exacerbates. Caught in between their struggle are Chuskit's parents and her enterprising brother who want to respect the old world views that Dorje represents, but also want to keep Chuskit's spirit alive. Chuskit will have to get her grandfather to yield or she will have to accept the reality he has chosen for her. TRAILER PRIYA RAMASUBBAN DIRECTOR'S PROFILE Priya Ramasubban is a reputed filmmaker who has traveled the world for over fifteen years making films for National Geographic, Discovery, History Channel and other major international broadcasters. She is a storyteller at heart and has the ability to deal with complex subjects in a nuanced way allowing for textured interpretation. She has written and directed “Lost Kings of Israel” (National Geographic), “Divine Delinquents” (National Geographic), several episodes on the long-running series “Digging for the Truth” (History Channel), episodes on the series “Into the Unknown” (Discovery Channel), an episode on “Monster Fish” (National Geographic) and several others notable productions. Priya was one of the six people chosen from all over India as a part of a screenwriter’s lab organized by the National Film Development Corporation where she received an opportunity to evolve her story for Chuskit under the mentorship of award-winning Dutch writer Jolein Laarman. DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT Conversations with my sister, Vidya, sowed the seeds for my film ‘Chuskit’. Vidya has worked with the differently abled in Ladakh for almost a decade. She was instrumental in sending Sonam, a nine-year-old with cerebral palsy to school despite the arduous terrain in her remote Himalayan village. While working with Sonam, Vidya learnt of other such children who yearned to lead as normal a childhood as they could. Their stories were filled with pathos and hardships, yet not one of the children gave up their quest to go to school. That is why I shaped Chuskit’s character to be unrelenting and gave her the spunk to triumph over adversity. For most children outside the West, life as a differently abled person is tough at best and excruciatingly hard at worst. My wish is that a small measure of hope and inspiration stays with the audiences when they walk away from my film. CREDITS Editor Jabeen Merchant Jabeen Merchant has been editing films for 23 years. Her well known work includes commercial releases like 'Manorama Six Feet Under', ‘Khamoshi: The Musical’, 'NH10' and 'Anaarkali of Aarah' as well as indies like 'The President Is Coming' and the National Award winning children's film 'Chahutkan ki Mahabaharat'. Director of Photography Arvind Kannabiran A Parson's School of Design alum, Arvind Kannabiran has been working in the advertising and feature film industry for more than 25 years in both America and India. His feature film credits as a Director of Photography include 'NH10', 'Anarkali of Aarah', 'Manorama Six Feet Under', 'Loins of Punjab Presents' and 'My brother, Nikhil'. Production Design Aradhana Seth Aradhana is a filmmaker, visual artist and designer. Her production design credits include 'Angry Indian Goddesses', 'Don', 'Easy', 'Earth' and 'Fire'. As an Art Director she has worked on 'London Has Fallen (India)', 'The Darjeeling Limited', 'The Bourne Supremacy' and 'Stiff Upper Lips (India)'. She has directed/produced over 18 documentary films including ‘DAM/AGE’ and ‘A Suitable Boy’ for the BBC with Arundhati Roy and Vikram Seth. Sound Design P.M. Saatheesh A graduate of the National Film & Television Institute, Satheesh has worked on numerous documentaries for BBC, National Geographic, etc. as well as several feature films including ‘Mangal Pandey’, ‘Fakir of Venice’, and ‘Baahubali’. Satheesh also won a National Award for Best Sound Design on ‘Kumar Talkies’. CAST CREDITS Chuskit Jigmet Dewa Lhamo Dorje (Grandfather) Morup Namgyal (Padma Shri) Tsering (Mother) Yanchen Dolma Stobdan (Brother) Padma Chospel Sonam (Father) SS Wangchuk Norbu (Neighbour) Tsetan Angchok Angmo (Chuskit's friend) Stanzin Ngidon Deskit (Chuskit's friend) Yanchen Dolma Ahmad (Doctor) Satyadeep Misra CREW CREDITS Written and Directed by Priya Ramasubban Produced by Priya Ramasubban Director of Photography Arvind Kannabiran Production Design Aradhana Seth Costume Design Deepali Kosta Kabi Editor Jabeen Merchant Music Mathias Duplessy Sound Design Satheesh PM STILLS CHUSKITProduction still 4 CHUSKITProduction still 3 CHUSKIT_still1 CHUSKIT_still18 CHUSKIT_still9 COMMUNITY PARTNERS

2022 Wheels on the Bus Short Nepali, English mins 16 In-Person, Virtual 2022 Nepal Drama Best Director - Short Film at Hanoi International FF Tickets 4/15/23, 10:30 AM Free with IMFF Badge AFS Cinema Director Surya Shahi Surya Shahi received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) and a BA in International Studies from Elon University, USA in 2018. Since graduating, he has been in Nepal building a school and hostel in his home region of Humla, where WHEELS ON THE BUS was shot. He works part time as an acting teacher at Oscar International College of Film Studies in Kathmandu, Nepal. Surya worked on the Nepali short film A CURIOUS GIRL (2017) as a casting director, acting coach and assistant director. He was the creative producer and an actor in the musical short RATO TALO (2019) and also worked as an acting coach on the short FILAM (2020). He is currently working on his second short film as director, THE CURTAIN. Director: Surya Shahi Producer: Writer: Surya Shahi Cast: Man Bahadur Tamata, Damaru Bhatta, Suman Bohara Editor: Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

Personal memories of a secular freedom struggle at a time when India’s history is being rewritten by ruling fundamentalists. April 20, 2024 at 3:30:00 PM AFS Cinema Virtual May 3 - May 5, 2024 Texas Premiere Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The World is Family) India | Documentary 2023 | 96 mins | Marathi, English, Hindi In-Person Q&A with Director Anand Patwardhan TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Best Editing, International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’, an ancient Sanskrit phrase meaning "the world is family" is a universalist idea that competes with dominant, exclusivist Hindu notions of caste. Anand grew up in a milieu that questioned the latter. The family's elders had fought for India's Independence but rarely spoke about it. 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity', words enshrined in India's Constitution, became subconsciously internalized. As his parents aged, Anand began to film with whatever equipment was at hand. Soon birthdays and family gatherings gave way to oral history. Revisiting home movie footage a decade after his parents had passed was a revelation. Today as self-confessed Hindu supremacists whose ideology once inspired the murder of Mahatma Gandhi rewrite India's history, memories of the past have become more precious than mere personal nostalgia. Restoration Process About the Artist Anand Patwardhan has been making documentary films for over five decades pursuing issues at the crux of social and political life in India. Many of his films were at one time or another banned by state television channels and became the subject of censorship rulings that Anand successfully challenged in court. Active in movements for communal harmony and against unsustainable development, militarism and nuclear nationalism, Anand describes himself as “a non-serious human being forced by circumstances to make serious films”. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Anand Patwardhan Writer: Producer(s): Anand Patwardhan Film Editor: Anand Patwardhan 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.

April 23, 2026 at 6:00:00 PM AFS Cinema Texas Premiere An Unquiet Mind USA 2025 Live Q&A with producer Kovid Gupta and distribution producer Sarah Kuck Shown as part of the Texas showcase TICKETS BUY A BADGE New York Women in Film and Television and ReelAbilities Film Festival: Excellence in Directing Award 2025 DC South Asian Film Festival: Best Documentary 2025 Tasveer Film Festival 2025 Beyond the common myths of light-switch flipping and hand-washing lies the hidden, harrowing reality of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In this raw and deeply intimate documentary, director Rachel Immaraj pulls back the curtain on "Harm OCD"—a stigmatized form of the condition where sufferers are haunted by intrusive, unwanted thoughts of causing harm to those they love most. The film follows Natasha and Vinay as they navigate the invisible internal battles of Post-Partum and "Taboo" OCD, fighting a culture of shame that often leads to extreme isolation. By interweaving their personal journeys with expert insights, An Unquiet Mind reframes OCD not as a quirky personality trait, but as a complex neuropsychiatric battle. It is a powerful, essential film that seeks to replace silence with a movement of radical understanding and support. Restoration Process Film restoration process Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation About the Artist RACHEL IMMARAJ is a filmmaker from Austin, Texas who works in set decoration for film, television, and commercials. Her recent work includes shows such as A24’s Mo on Netflix and 1923 on Paramount +. Movies she collaborated on have premiered at Sundance and SXSW, and commercial clients she designed for include Hugo Boss, ESPN, Shiner, & Instagram. Rachel’s interest in documentaries began when she was in high school during her family’s summer visits to India. She began documenting stories first through 35mm street photography, and then moved on to creating short documentaries for various organizations. AN UNQUIET MIND is Rachel’s directorial debut. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Rachel Immaraj Writer: Producer(s): Kovid Gupta Natasha Paradeshi Film Editor: Travis Lee Ratcliff Lee Rothenflue Featured Cast: Vinay Krishnan Natasha Peters Thank you to our community partners for this screening!

A reluctant young teacher, Ugyen, finds himself assigned to the world’s most remote village school. Situated in Northern Bhutan, Lunana is an 8-day trek into the Himalayas - an alienating experience for the city-dwelling Ugyen, who plans to move to Australia to pursue music as soon as possible. Eventive Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom Bhutan | Narrative Feature 2019 | 109 mins | Dzongkha TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL 2022 Academy Award Nominee for 'Best International Feature' A reluctant young teacher, Ugyen, finds himself assigned to the world’s most remote village school. Situated in Northern Bhutan, Lunana is an 8-day trek into the Himalayas - an alienating experience for the city-dwelling Ugyen, who plans to move to Australia to pursue music as soon as possible. He arrives to find a welcoming community amid the beautiful but forbidding surroundings - and an especially eager student body, whose access to teachers and materials from outside has been inconsistent. Filmed using cameras operating on solar-powered batteries, and starring primarily villagers from the real Lunana in child & adult roles, this charming drama transports us to a rarely seen part of the globe. Restoration Process About the Artist Pawo Choyning Dorji (Director & Writer) is a writer, photographer and filmmaker from the Kingdom of Bhutan. Pawo's introduction to film came in 2012 when he worked as Khyentse Norbu's assistant for the later's feature; Vara: A Blessing. In 2016 he produced the critically acclaimed Bhutanese feature Hema Hema: Sing me a song while I wait. The film had its world premiere at the 69th Festival del film Locarno and went on to win the Special Mention at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji Writer: Pawo Choyning Dorji Producer(s): Pawo Choyning Dorji Steven Xiang Stephanie Lai Jia Honglin Film Editor: Ku Hsiao-Yun Featured Cast: Sherab Dorji Ugyen Norbu Lhendup Kelden Lhamo Gurung Pema Zam 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.

Former wrestling champion Shalini works as a bouncer at a Delhi nightclub where, after a fatal security lapse, invasive smartwatches are introduced. As tensions rise and personal lives are increasingly monitored, Shalini must navigate the dangerous waters of suspicion and surveillance. Eventive Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 North America Premiere Taak India | Short 2024 | 40 mins | Hindi TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Film Critics Guild's Critic's Choice Award for Best Actress MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, Dharamshala International Film Festival, FILMKUNSTFEST MV (Germany) When a security breach shakes the foundations of a Delhi nightclub, the management enforces a new policy: mandatory tracking smartwatches for all staff members. Senior among the staff is Shalini, a bouncer who is a single mother. They are told that the smartwatches are tools for safety and efficiency. However, the watches soon reveal a darker purpose—constant surveillance. As the smartwatches begin to intrude on personal lives, harvesting data and controlling movements, the nightclub faces opposition from Komal - a young recruit from Shalini’s village who is extremely resistant to wearing the smartwatch. Berated for her team’s incompetence, Shalini must ensure that her colleagues wear the smartwatch or face severe consequences. In a world where every move is tracked, Shalini and Komal’s fight becomes one of autonomy, dignity, and the right to be unseen. Restoration Process About the Artist Udit Khurana graduated from Hansraj College, Delhi University, with a degree in Mathematics. His journey in storytelling started in a university theater environment and naturally progressed to filmmaking. After training at L.V. Prasad Film Academy, Chennai, Udit worked as the cinematographer on numerous documentary and fiction projects, collaborating with directors from diverse regions and languages. His notable projects include 'Ghaath' (Berlinale 2023), 'For the Love of a Man' (Venice International Film Festival 2015), and 'Chronicles of Hari' (Busan International Film Festival). Recently, he worked on Netflix's 'The Hunt for Veerappan'' and 'Mithya', a FIPRESCI-nominated Kannada feature film. For his work, he was selected as an Emerging Talent at the Berlinale Talents Camera Studio in 2023. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Udit Khurana Writer: Udit Khurana Producer(s): Mathivanan Rajendran Ishan Hendre Shilpa Kumar Film Editor: Bhamati Sivapalan Featured Cast: Jyoti Dogra Ambika Kamal Anoop Ghosh Kapil Pal 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.

Two hearts navigate the shifting tides of love, marriage, and self-discovery, as their relationship teeters on the edge. April 10, 2025 at 6:30:00 PM AFS Cinema Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 World Premiere Fragments of Us USA | Short 2024 | 24 mins | Telugu, English TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Fragments of Us follows Drithi and Arjun, a south asian couple navigating the intricate challenges of love, marriage, and self-discovery. As cultural expectations and personal ambitions collide, they confront the fragile nature of their bond through a non-linear narrative that reveals defining moments from their past, present, and possible future. Each fragment of their journey invites reflection on whether there is ever a "right" time to address issues within a relationship, or if it ultimately comes down to resilience and choice. Restoration Process About the Artist Sushanth Nallapareddy is an emerging filmmaker with a distinctive voice in contemporary cinema, known for weaving intricate narratives that explore the complexities of human relationships. His passion for storytelling is rooted in capturing the emotional and psychological depths of his characters, with a focus on life's subtleties and nuances. Deeply influenced by Telugu mainstream cinema in his early years, Sushanth later found inspiration in world cinema, which reshaped his understanding of film as a powerful art form. His previous works including the short films Anveshana and Inkosaari, and the music video Head over Heels have garnered significant viewership on YouTube, solidifying his presence in Telugu cinema. While his previous work leaned toward mainstream appeal, Fragments of Us marks a more introspective approach, delving into a personal style of cinema. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Sushanth Nallapareddy Writer: Sushanth Nallapareddy Krishna Poojitha Producer(s): Dundinath Gunda Anil Sankaramachi Prithvi Raj Karreddula Film Editor: Sachin Dheeraj Sushanth Nallapareddy Featured Cast: Shalini Bathina Sri Chilukuri 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 woman goes on a virtual reality date and is transported to a speakeasy bar from the prohibition era of Mumbai. April 20, 2024 at 6:15:00 PM AFS Cinema Virtual May 3 - May 5, 2024 North America Premiere Next, Please India | Short 2023 | 10 mins | Hindi, English TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Best Short Film - Rome Indie Film Festival Best Short Film - Heart of Europe Film Festival A woman goes on a virtual reality date and is transported to a speakeasy bar from the prohibition era of Mumbai. Restoration Process About the Artist Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Rishav Kapoor Writer: Chaitanya Tamhane Producer(s): Chaitanya Tamhane Film Editor: Vedant Joshi Featured Cast: Jim Sarbh, Shreya Dhanwanthary, Shardul Bhardwaj 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.

Problems in a relationship come to the surface during a cinematography group exercise. Filmocracy Virtual April 28 - May 1, 2023 Faces USA | Short 2023 | 11 mins | English In-Person Q&A with Texas director Kumar Mayank TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Restoration Process About the Artist Kumar Mayank completed his engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi and worked a few corporate jobs before getting into filmmaking. Since then he has assisted on and off in TV commercials and feature length films in Mumbai and has worked as a freelancer. He is currently pursuing a Master's degree in filmmaking from UT Austin. His short films have screened internationally at Split Film Festival, Santa Fe Film Festival, Carmarthen Bay Film festival, Filipino Arts and Cinema International, Trenton Film Festival and IntimaLente Ethnographic Film Festival among others and have been awarded at Festival International Signes De Nuit, Bare Bones International Film Festival etc. He is interested in exploring new ways of filmic storytelling to bring to screen the tragedy, comedy and the not-so-extreme of the human condition. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Kumar Mayank Writer: Kumar Mayank Producer(s): Film Editor: Featured Cast: Olivia Tovar, Jasper Jones 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.

Filmmaker-actor couple, Tithi and Farhan are subjects of criticism and troll for not taking baby in a patriarchal society. Tithi doesn’t succumb to the pressure of social validation and decides to have a baby when the time is right for her but the question never ends for her. AFS Cinema Virtual May 3 - May 5, 2024 North America Premiere Something Like an Autobiography Bangladesh, Germany, India | Narrative Feature 2023 | 82 mins | Bengali Recorded Q&A with Filmmaker Mostofa Sarwar Farooki Screens with Helena . TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Busan Film Festival, Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Farhan and Titi are a director-actor couple living in Dhaka. In a conservative and patriarchal Muslim society, they are criticized for not having children even after 10 years of marriage. Restoration Process About the Artist Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Mostofa Sarwar Farooki Writer: Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Nusrat Imrose Tisha Producer(s): Redoan Rony Film Editor: Momin Biswas Featured Cast: Nusrat Imrose Tisha, Mostofa Sarwar Farooki, Iresh Zaker, Dolly Zahur 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.