2022 What Are You Searching? Short Hindi, English mins 35 Virtual 2022 India Family, Drama Tickets 4/28/23, 12:00 PM Free with IMFF Badge Director Princy Pal Princy Pal is filmmaker based out of Delhi. She is an alumnus of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute, 2019, where she completed a postgraduate degree in cinema, specializing in direction and screenwriting. Pal's is deeply interested in exploring film as a medium of narrative, non-narrative, imagery, sound, and vision that can transcend the world of the audience's experience. Pal also has hobbies in photography, creative writing, and music. Director: Princy Pal Producer: Writer: Princy Pal Cast: Indira Tiwari, Shabnam Thakur, Jaivanti Devi Editor: Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

When two boys are kidnapped in a border town in Nepal, Detective Inspector Pooja is sent from Kathmandu to solve the case. April 12, 2025 at 5:45:00 PM AFS Cinema Special Screening Pooja, Sir Nepal, USA, Norway | Narrative Feature 2024 | 108 mins | Nepali Live Q&A with director Deepak Rauniyar and lead actress Asha Magrati TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL When two boys are kidnapped in a border town in Nepal, Detective Inspector Pooja is sent from Kathmandu to solve the case, forcing her to leave her wife and her ailing father behind. But when she arrives to investigate, the brewing political unrest and violent protests throw her off course, and she is forced to seek help from Mamata, a local Madhesi policewoman. By putting aside systemic racial and homophobic discrimination and pushing through everyday misogyny, the women solve the case—but at what personal cost? Inspired by real events which took place in Southern Nepal during the 2015 race protests. Restoration Process About the Artist Deepak Rauniyar’s first feature film, “Highway” (2012), was the first film from Nepal to screen at a major global film festival, premiering at Berlinale and later playing at Locarno. His second feature, “White Sun” (2016), debuted at the Venice Orizzonti competition with rave reviews, with the Hollywood Reporter calling it “impressively accomplished” and The New York Times, which included Rauniyar among the “9 New Directors to Watch” list, writing that “White Sun” “captures a place that isn’t seen much in movies.” The film screened internationally at over 100 film festivals, including Toronto, Locarno, Rotterdam, New Directors/New Films, Sydney, and Golden Horse. It won the Interfilm Award at Venice and Best Film at the Singapore and Palm Springs Film Festivals. Nepal nominated “White Sun” for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Deepak Rauniyar Writer: Deepak Rauniyar David Barker Asha Magrati Producer(s): Deepak Rauniyar Asha Magrati AADI FILMS (Nepal/ US) Rambabu Gurung BAASURI FILMS (Nepal) Alan R Milligan TANNAUSER GATE (Norway) Film Editor: J. Him Lee Alex Gurvits Featured Cast: Asha Magrati Nikita Chandak Dayahang Rai Bijay Baral Aarti Mandal Reecha Sharma Ghanshyam Mishra Parmeshwor Kumar Jha Gaumaya Gurung Pashupati Rai Niraj Shrestha 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 3:45:00 PM AFS Cinema Virtual May 3 - May 5, 2024 Texas Premiere In Flames Pakistan, Canada | Narrative Feature 2023 | 98 mins | Urdu TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL 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.

A woman is haunted by debt collectors, and one wants to harvest something more. Is the figure in her head, or does she owe a cosmic debt? April 25, 2026 at 8:15:00 PM AFS Cinema Texas Premiere Burnt Orange USA | Short 2024 | 11 mins | English Live Q&A with writer-director-producer Sharmila Ray Followed by the film Fucktoys TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Sidewalk Festival, Birmingham, AL - 2025 Micheaux Festival, Los Angeles, CA - 2025 A phone call wakes Madison Mason up from a nightmare. On the other end is a student loan officer, looking to collect a debt. Madison, explains she can’t pay the current debt. Throughout the day, the calls persist, but Madison does her best to ignore the rings - until she decides to confront it. This time an eerie voice on the other end says they want to collect something else- Her molars! Spooked… Her friend, Taylor decides to come over to shake the fear. Feeling more at ease, Madison falls asleep on her couch only to wake up to find “The Man” from her nightmare has come to collect in real life. Restoration Process About the Artist Sharmila Ray, is a mixed race Indian and Filipina writer, director, producer based in Los Angeles. She began her career in documentary film. "YOU FOLLOW: A SEARCH FOR ONE’S PAST" was a feature that followed her best friend, Nisha Grayson, on the search for her birth mother in Goa, India. The film garnered attention in the adoption community. Sharmila’s short narrative film Devotee was recognized in the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival as well as internationally at the Jaipur Film Festival. Her recent short Burnt Orange will be making its US debut at the Sidewalk Festival in Birmingham, AL. This year Sharmila is a part of the Rideback Rise circle cohort: An accelerator program for mid-career POC creators. While making a ton of passion projects Sharmila has worked in costumes, art and post production on union sets to gain professional experience. She shared that experience by mentoring for Notre Dame High School and has been a judge for the Los Angeles Public Library: The Teens of L.A. Film Fest. She also enjoys painting, practicing the akashic records and tarot. Sharmila loves taking afternoon strolls through a museum and prefers the beach over the desert, but will never object to an outdoor adventure. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Sharmila Ray Writer: Sharmila Ray Producer(s): Sharmila Ray Matthew Keene Smith Livi Nichols Bobby Javier Film Editor: Alex Regalado Featured Cast: Kausar Mohammed Kent Isaacs Vivian Bang 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.

When a mysterious gatecrasher appears at their wedding, Madhav and Sufi are forced to face past secrets and reflect on what makes a family. Filmocracy Virtual April 28 - May 1, 2023 Queer Parivaar India | Short 2021 | 27 mins | English, Bengali TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Restoration Process About the Artist Shiva Raichandani is a multidisciplinary non-binary artist whose works harness the power of storytelling to create inclusive spaces for positive gender-expansive representation in media. Shiva is a screenwriter, director, and producer for film and TV. As an awardee of the inaugural Netflix Documentary Talent Fund, they directed a short film called PEACH PARADISE, which premiered on TikTok’s first-ever live film showcase. Shiva’s independent short QUEER PARIVAAR won the prestigious BAFTA-qualifying Iris Prize ‘Best British Short’ award, making it available for broadcast and streaming on Channel 4. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Shiva Raichandani Writer: Shiva Raichandani Producer(s): Film Editor: Featured Cast: Shiva Raichandani, Taru Devani, Asifa Lahore 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.

Norwegian academic Samuel died in Santhali village. Bidu wants to keep Samuel's last wish of burying him in the village. With a broken heart and a broken dream, Bidu's five-year-old son Kherwal started looking for a new way of going to Norway, which Samuel promised. Eventive Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Indie Meme Special 10th Year Retrospective Showcase United States Premiere Kherwal India | Narrative Feature 2023 | 122 mins | Santhali, Bengali, English TICKETS WATCH ONLINE Limited tickets available on site. 29th Kolkata International Film Festival 28th International Film Festival of Kerala 2023-Best Debut Director Indian Cinema Now 16th Jaipur International Film Festival -Awarded for Best Original Script, Best Released Film, Best Cinematography, Best Actor Lead Norwegian academic Samuel passed away in an Indian tribal village, leaving behind a final wish to be buried there. Bidu, a Santhali man, is determined to honour Samuel’s last request. Meanwhile, Bidu's young son struggles with the painful realisation that his cherished dream of visiting Norway, a promise made by Samuel, may never come true. However, hope flickers anew with the arrival of Samuel’s daughter, Lauren, in the village, rekindling the boy’s aspirations and bringing new possibilities to light. 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 Uttam Kamati is an independent Indian filmmaker and photographer with a strong passion for storytelling. His creative journey began by taking on different roles in filmmaking, where he gained experience as an assistant director, and scriptwriter for independent projects. Recently, Uttam Kamati completed his first feature-length film, Kherwal, which showcases his dedication to exploring diverse narratives. His short films, including Hope, have received international recognition. Hope won awards at the Dresden Sustainability Contest in Germany and the FINI Festival in Mexico. As a photographer, Uttam Kamati has earned several prestigious awards, including the Environmental Photographer of the Year (London, 2015), the DMZ International Half and Half Photography Award, and the DMZ Global Peace Award (South Korea), as well as the FIAP Bronze (Turkey). His work has been exhibited in major cities like New York, London, Turkey, and Boston, as well as at renowned institutions across India. Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Trailer Credits Crew: Director: Uttam Kamati Writer: Uttam Kamati Producers: Uttam Kamati Film Editor: Featured Cast: Debanshu Saren Rabi Baskey Krista Smligdriva Monimala Saren 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!

< Our Team Board of Directors Sharmila Mehta Fundraising Chair Sharmila is a culturally fluent professional with a Master’s in Advertising and over 15 years of corporate marketing experience across the U.S. and India. She brings strategic insight, clear communication, and a strong aesthetic sensibility to everything she does. Based in Austin, she has spent the last 12 years helping clients navigate real estate with confidence and care. As a seasoned Realtor, she blends deep local knowledge with a personalized, client-first approach. A passionate advocate for storytelling, Sharmila is especially drawn to independent films that spark dialogue and carry powerful social messages. A long-time believer in the impact of meaningful cinema, she has been a fan and supporter of Indie Meme since its inception and is now honored to serve as a Board Member. Having lived in seven cities across four countries, Sharmila values cultural diversity and builds meaningful connections with ease. She approaches both work and life with empathy, creativity, and curiosity.

An elderly woman struggles with the choice of selling her beloved vintage car, Aasmani. April 26, 2026 at 3:45:00 PM AFS Cinema AASMANI India | Short 2026 | 33 mins | Hindi, English Live Q&A with writer-director-producer Sayani Gupta moderated by Rubi Sanchez Shown as part of the Family Shorts Program TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Best Short Script at the Independent Short Awards LA. Honourable Mentions at Tokyo Film & Screenplay Awards Best Short Audience Choice Award - Indie Meme Film Festival 2026 An elderly woman struggles with the choice of selling her beloved vintage car, Aasmani. Restoration Process About the Artist Sayani is an acclaimed Indian actor. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII, Pune), she has built a 14-year career defined by fierce & unconventional choices across film, theatre, and streaming. This has been a 17 year long dream that has finally come to fruition. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Sayani Gupta Writer: Sayani Gupta Producer(s): Sayani Gupta Movies Sumitra Gupta Foundation For Arts One India Stories Film Editor: Paramita Ghosh Featured Cast: Revathy Asha Daria Bedi Abhay Kaul 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 shepherds begin to hear a mysterious sound in the Himalayas, but their town is skeptical of their concern. Eventive Virtual May 3 - May 5, 2024 Last Days of Summer India | Short 2023 | 15 mins | Boti TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Official Selection of the Rotterdam International Film Festival (IFFR), INTERFILM Berlin, & the Dharamshala International Film Festival A recurring mysterious sound from Himalaya mountains is only heard by two curious young shepherds. Unable to convince the villagers of the worrying nature of such sound, they journey into the unknown to unravel the mystery. Restoration Process About the Artist Born in 1990, Stenzin Tankong is a Film & Television graduate from the Symbiosis Centre of Media and Communication. He’s a director and scriptwriter from Ladakh. He has been working on motion pictures for about five years now, and his one aim is to bring the stories of his people and culture onto the world platform. LAST DAYS OF SUMMER is his first professional film. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Stenzin Tankong Writer: Jigmet Wangchuk Producer(s): Flore Cavigneaux, Jérôme Blesson Stenzin Tankong, Urgain Phunts Film Editor: Featured Cast: Tsewang Chodak, Stanzin Thupstan , Padma Angmo 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.

Pari is a young Nepalese woman, an aspiring actress and gifted dancer. She lives in a claustrophobic run-shack in Pokhara with few prospects for the future.   When she befriends a charming Indian theatre actor, Abhinash, it seems her Bollywood dreams may be in reach. Back to Festival Program Texas Premiere Pari of Pokhara Nepal I 23 mins I Drama I 2019 I Nepalese w/ English subtitles Pari is a young Nepalese woman, an aspiring actress and gifted dancer. She lives in a claustrophobic run-shack in Pokhara with few prospects for the future. When she befriends a charming Indian theatre actor, Abhinash, it seems her Bollywood dreams may be in reach. He coaches Pari in her acting and expands her world as they explore the surrounding lakes & mountains. However, Abhinash is secretly a part of a human trafficking network, sending pictures of Pari to his handlers. As the relationship deepens, he becomes conflicted about his actions and power over her future. + Screens with SHORTS PROGRAM 4: True to You GET YOUR FESTIVAL BADGE VIRTUAL SCREENING : SUN. APRIL 25 - 3:00PM CT About the Artist Babar Ali is a Pakistani filmmaker, living and working in Dubai. Many of his previous films centered on women’s issues, especially in the developing world where people are vulnerable to conditions caused by poverty and inequality. He started to research human trafficking when mentoring a young student doing a project on the subject. He found the statistics staggering: an estimated 5,000 – 10,000 women trafficked from Nepal to India alone each year. Human trafficking earns global profits of ~ $150 billion for traffickers. PARI OF POKHARA is the first original production of IYMS Films, the production company of the International Youth Media Summit . The annual IYMS brings together filmmakers from all over the world to create media that inspires young people to challenge the issues destroying the peace and well-being of their societies. It's his hope that PARI OF POKHARA will give a human face to this global tragedy and bring awareness to this issue. Trailer Thank you to our community partner(s) for this screening: the Austin Film Society, and the Austin Film Commission! Credits Crew Writer/Director: BABAR ALI Editor: BABAR ALI Producer(s): MASHOOR ABDELF TOUH FAWZY SAPAN HAMAL EVELYN SEUBERT BABAR ALI Cast TAHA KHAN HENA NAGARKOTI SUMI SAUMYATA Prod. Design: AQIB JAFRY Asst. Director: AQIB JAFRY Cinematography: ASIR AHMED KHAN

April 22, 2026 at 6:15:00 PM AFS Cinema FREE for members Texas Premiere Vimukt (In Search of the Sky) India 2024 Virtual Q&A with writer-director Jitank Gurjar and lead actor Nikhil Yadav Preceeded by the short film Hills Don't Dance Alone TICKETS BUY A BADGE Toronto International Film Festival - Netpac jury award International Film Festival of India Vimukt (In Search of the Sky) follows an aging couple, Jasrath and Vidya, who are deeply devoted to their intellectually disabled son, Naraan—a sweet, curious soul adrift in his own world. For the parents, life is a grueling cycle of labor and a growing, painful awareness that they may soon be too old to care for him. Desperate for a miracle to "heal" their son's mind, the family embarks on an epic, soul-stirring pilgrimage to the once-in-a-century Maha Kumbh, the largest religious gathering on Earth. But as they navigate the swirling lights and shadowy figures of the festival, the journey becomes less about a physical cure and more about a profound internal awakening. This poignant and visually stunning debut from Jitank Singh Gurjar offers a rare, intimate look at a rural Indian family grappling with life’s most difficult questions—the ones that have no easy answers. Restoration Process Film restoration process Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation About the Artist Jitank Gurjar is an independent filmmaker and theatre artist with over 11 years of experience, spanning theatre, ad films, music videos, and documentaries. A self-taught storyteller, he made his directorial debut with BAASAN, a regional art film rooted in rural folklore, officially screened at IFFI 54 and the 2024 Cannes Marché du Film. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Jitank Singh Gurjar Writer: Jitank Singh Gurjar, Pooja Vishal Sharma Producer(s): Pooja Vishal Sharma Film Editor: Pavan Theurkar Featured Cast: Thank you to our community partners for this screening!

After several years in the US, Tara, in the midst of her IVF process, returns to India for the funeral of her father. There, she finds a mother in denial about her sexual orientation, an ex-girlfriend who has rebuilt her life with a man, and the shadow of the paterfamilias that continues to hang over the home. April 20, 2024 at 10:30:00 AM AFS Cinema Virtual May 3 - May 5, 2024 Texas Premiere Places I've Called My Own France, India | Short 2023 | 28 mins | Hindi TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL PÖFF Shorts 2023, Chéries-Chéris 2023, Créteil 2024 After several years in the US, Tara, in the midst of her IVF process, returns to India for the funeral of her father. There, she finds a mother in denial about her sexual orientation, an ex-girlfriend who has rebuilt her life with a man, and the shadow of the paterfamilias that continues to hang over the home. Restoration Process About the Artist Born and raised in India, Sushma is a writer/director based in New York. Her student short film 'ANITA' had its world premiere in Venice's Orizzonti 2020. She is the first Indian female director in competition in Venice since 2000. Her new film PLACES I’VE CALLED MY OWN premiered in November 2023 at PÖFF Shorts. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Sushma Khadepaun Writer: Sushma Khadepaun Producer(s): Damien Megherbi, Justin Pechberty, Avantika Sigh Film Editor: Clémence Carré Featured Cast: Aditi Vasudev, Bhumika Dube, Amardeep Jha 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.