< 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.

Our 2025 Leadership Circle Members Thank you to our generous Leadership Circle members for their support of Indie Meme's Festivals & Programs. Our donors sustain our work and further the presence of independent South Asian Cinema in Texas. We appreciate all of your support, and could not do it without you! Producers Guild Directors Guild Alice Mechaley-Saigal & Anuj Saigal Jaya Ramanathan & Ram Raghavan Writers Guild Anonymous Sreedhara Sen Bhasin Lead Cast Anonymous Sonia & Chandrajit Bajaj Aditi Bhargava & Alok Bhanot Seema & Anupam Govil Suja & Animon Jose Hitesh Vijay Oswal Raka Sandell & Krishna Srinivasan Puneet & Sachin Wadhwa Anjali & Pamposh Zutshi Supporting Cast Anonymous Preeti & Preet Ahluwalia Bhavna Guglani & Girish Pashlikar Anurag Kumar Vagdevi Meunier Ahmed Moledina Lata Narumanchi Rashmika & Jignesh Patel Kala Malini Ranganathan & Vijay Sankaran Nanditha & Shawn Siram Jaya Thakkar DONATE TODAY!

Azra is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother. Following a tragedy, Azra finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey to Pakistan - guided by memories of her mother's youth in Karachi and her own coming-of-age in rural Canada. August 4, 2024 at 4:30:00 PM AFS Cinema The Queen of My Dreams Canada, Pakistan | Narrative Feature 2023 | 96 mins | English, Urdu Live ZOOM Q&A with Writer-Director Fawzia Mirza. TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Queer Pakistani grad student, Azra, is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother. When her father suddenly dies on a trip home to Pakistan, Azra finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey through memories, both real and imagined; from her mother’s youth in Karachi to her own coming- of-age in rural Canada. Restoration Process About the Artist Fawzia Mirza is a Canadian film and TV actress, writer, producer, and director. Her work includes the web series Kam Kardashian and Brown Girl Problems and the 2017 film Signature Move. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Fawzia Mirza Writer: Fawzia Mirza Producer(s): Andria Wilson Mirza, Jason Levangie, and Marc Tetreault Film Editor: Simone Smith Featured Cast: Amrit Kaur, Nimra Bucha, Hamza Haq, Ayana Manji, Ali A. Kazmi 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. Eventive Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Indie Meme Special 10th Year Retrospective Showcase In Flames Pakistan, Canada | Narrative Feature 2023 | 98 mins | Urdu ORIGINAL FILM PAGE WATCH ONLINE Limited tickets available on site. Golden Yusr at Red Sea FF, TIFF, Cannes 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. 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 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. Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Trailer Credits Crew: Director: Zarrar Kahn Writer: Zarrar Kahn Producers: Hamza Bangash Film Editor: Craig Scorgie Zarrar Kahn Featured Cast: Ramesha Nawal Omar Javaid Bakhtawar Mazhar Adnan Shah Tipu Mohammad Ali Hashmi Jibran Khan 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!

Dhh is a heartwarming story of 3 friends (Gungun, Bajrang & Vakil) and their journey towards realising their true potential. An afternoon of sauntering leads them to a magic show and leaves them awestruck. Dhh India | Feature | 2h 8min |Fiction |Hindi/Gujarati with English subtitles 4/22/18, 10:00am-12:15pm GET TICKETS Note: Free screening, please register on the Ticket Page SYNOPSIS Dhh is a heartwarming story of 3 friends (Gungun, Bajrang & Vakil) and their journey towards realising their true potential. An afternoon of sauntering leads them to a magic show and leaves them awestruck. Magic, it seems is a solution for all their problems including mathematics ! The boys write to the Magician asking him for a trick to ace their examinations. Days go by and times get tougher with punishments at school and warnings at home. All hope is lost, but one fine day the Magician replies! His letter arrives with a parcel that claims to hold the key to cracking their examinations. Can this be true? In pursuit of learning from magic Gungun and his friends soon realise, that there is a lot more learning to be done from life itself. FILM SPONSOR COMMUNITY PARTNER TRAILER DIRECTOR'S PROFILE Manish Saini graduated from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad in 2009, specializing in Film and Video Communication. It is here that he discovered and channelized his love for story telling into crafting films. He is inspired by the nuances of daily life and has an eye for seeing whimsy and splendour in the seemingly ordinary and mundane happenings around him. He sees cinema as a mirror to real life, his work so far presents characters and humdrum situations through the lens of humour and irony. He aspires to tell stories that are rooted in Indian life and have a mass appeal but at the same time are equally thought provoking. Manish’s student work has won awards and was showcased in many Indian Film Festivals. Manish founded ‘Amdavad Films’ in 2016 with the intent of realising the project “Dhh”. The production house was founded in collaboration with young entrepreneurs who consist of writers, visualisers, cinematographers, editors, animators and production designers. Amdavad films aims to contribute to the growth of Gujarati Cinema. DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT Childhood is not just a time or a phase in our lives but rather a place in our minds that we often revisit. The story of ‘Dhh’ hopes to take its audience on a nostalgic journey to the days of innocence and unquestioned faith. It is dedicated to all those who as kids believed that magic can truly solve the bigger problems in life. The film tries to convey that a true victory is when you find happiness and not when you score 99/100 and that real success is when you make progress and not just stand 1st in class. Life is an addition of many small instances that seem insignificant, but time often adds them up to teach us immeasurable lessons. The process of learning from life is --w-he-re-t-he -m-ag-ic -h-ap-pe-ns-,- th-is-s-to-ry-a-spi-re-s -to m-agnify this magical experience. CREW Director & Writer - Manish Saini Story - Aditya Vikarm Sengupta & Manish Saini Director of Photography - Prahlad Gopakumar Editor - Niraj Voralia Music - Meghdhanush Lyrics - Juzar Shabbir Sound Designer - Bishwadeep Dipak Chatterjee Background Music - Sagar Desai Sync Sound - Jitamitra Jena Executive Producer - Ajay Kannaujiya Production Designer - Pritesh Maru Costume Designer - Ganesh Ghani Production Head - Aniruddh Rahevar Dialogue - Parth Trivedi, Ninad Parikh & Manish Saini STILLS dhh1 dhh7 dhh5 dhh6 dhh4 dhh2

Follows the journey of 16 year old Mira, whose sexual awakening & coming of age rebellion are disrupted by her young mother who never had the opportunity to be young & reckless herself. April 21, 2024 at 6:15:00 PM AFS Cinema Girls Will Be Girls India | Narrative Feature 2024 | 112 mins | Hindi, English In-Person Q+A with Filmmaker Shuchi Talati TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL In a strict boarding school nestled in the Himalayas, 16-year-old Mira discovers desire and romance; but her sexual, rebellious awakening is disrupted by her mother who never got to come-of-age herself. Restoration Process About the Artist Shuchi Talati is a filmmaker from India whose work challenges dominant narratives around gender, sexuality, and South Asian identity. Her feature film, Girls Will Be Girls, premiered in competition at Sundance where it won an Audience Award and a Special Jury Award. Girls has been a recipient of Aide Aux Cinémas du Monde and Sørfond grants, and the ArteKINO and VFF Talent Award at the Berlinale Co - Production Market. It has also been selected for Gotham Week, Berlinale Script Station and Cine Qua Non Script Lab. Her short film, Period Piece, about an afternoon of period sex, was selected for SXSW. Mae and Ash won numerous awards before becoming a Vimeo Staff Pick. Shuchi is an alum of Berlinale Talents and her work has also been recognized by the New York State Council for the Arts and Région Île-de-France. She is a graduate of the American Film Institute. She lives in NYC and is a member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective, the Bitchitra Collective and the Freelance Solidarity Project. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Shuchi Talati Writer: Shuchi Talati Producer(s): Rikki Agarwal, Eléonore Anselme, Kent Bassett, Rémi Burah, Richa Chadha, Claire Chassagne, Ali Fazal, Sanjay Gulati, Gudny Hummelvoll, Marc Irmer, Alex C. Lo, Tanya Negi, Olivier Père, Dooj Ramchandani, Shuchi Talati Film Editor: Amrita David Featured Cast: Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti, Kesav Binoy Kiron, Kajol Chugh, Nandini Verma, Devika Shahani, Akash Pramanik, Aman Desai, Sumit Sharma, Jitin Gulati, Pratap Singh, Pradeep Kapoor, Neeraj Varma, Ved Amrita, Ahana Malla, Megha Aggarwal, Chiraag Behl, Jatin Sehgal, Samta Goyal, Mamta Chauhan, Tanu Gusain, Kapil Raj 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 26, 2026 at 3:45:00 PM AFS Cinema AASMANI India 2026 Live Q&A with writer-director-producer Sayani Gupta moderated by Rubi Sanchez Shown as part of the Family Shorts Program TICKETS BUY A BADGE 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 Film restoration process Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation 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!