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2023 This is TMI Short Bengali, English, Hindi, Nepali mins 6 In-Person, Virtual 2023 India Animation, Comedy, Coming of Age Big boobs vs. small boobs, who has it worse? A group of women, over a drink, discusses in what ways being a part of a conservative society affects how we feel about our own breasts- which, at the end of the day, are just lumps of fat. Toronto International Film Festival South by SouthWest (SXSW) In-Person Q&A with Filmmaker Vidushi Gupta Tickets 4/20/24, 3:30 PM All Badges, Shorts Program Ticket AFS Cinema Directors and Animators Subarna Dash & Vidushi Gupta Subarna Dash is an animation filmmaker based in India. She pursued her studies in Animation Cinema at the Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute, Kolkata. She was awarded as one of the “75 creative minds” by the Ministry of I&B, at IFFI, Goa in 2022. Her films have been screened and awarded at prestigious festivals such as Berlinale, TIFF, SXSW, Annecy, etc. Vidushi Gupta is an animator, filmmaker, and storyteller from India. With a background in Animation Cinema from Satyajit Ray Film & Television Institute and a current Master's in Visualization at Texas A&M University, she focuses on animated short films, both fictional and documentary. Her animated documentary "This Is TMI" has been screened at prestigious festivals like TIFF, SXSW, Kaboom Animation Festival, and Animafest Zagreb. Director: Subarna Dash, Vidushi Gupta Producer: Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute Writer: Cast: Sneha Das Priyadarshini Subba Rituparna Saha Monjima Mullick Vidushi Gupta Subarna Dash Editor: Crew: Pragadeesh Marimuthu, Sethu Venogopalan This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2023 Places I've Called My Own Short Hindi mins 28 Texas Premiere In-Person, Virtual 2023 France, India Drama, LGBT, Family 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. PÖFF Shorts 2023, Chéries-Chéris 2023, Créteil 2024 Tickets 4/20/24, 3:30 PM All Badges, Shorts Program Ticket AFS Cinema Writer / Director Sushma Khadepaun 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. Director: Sushma Khadepaun Producer: Damien Megherbi, Justin Pechberty, Avantika Sigh Writer: Sushma Khadepaun Cast: Aditi Vasudev, Bhumika Dube, Amardeep Jha Editor: Clémence Carré Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2023 In Flames Narrative Feature Urdu mins 98 Texas Premiere In-Person, Virtual 2023 Pakistan, Canada Drama, Horror 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. Cannes Directors Fortnight 2023 Sitges International Film Festival Tickets 4/18/24, 8:45 PM All Badges, Debut Showcase Ticket AFS Cinema Writer / Director Zarrar Kahn 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. Director: Zarrar Kahn Producer: Anam Abbas Writer: Zarrar Kahn Cast: Ramesha Nawal, Omar Javaid, Bakhtawar Mazhar, Adnan Shah Tipu, Mohammad Ali Hashmi, Jibran Khan Editor: Craig Scorgie & Zarrar Kahn Crew: Aigul Nurbulatova, Kalaisan Kalaichelvan This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2022 Battisi (Dentures) Short Hindi mins 16 Virtual 2022 India Drama It is a special day for Ajju: he is celebrating his father's 90th birthday. However, the latter is suffering from dementia. He continually loses his bearings, and has problems recognising his own son. While his party is ongoing, the father embarks on a solitary quest to find his dentures, presumably lost somewhere in the hotel where the celebration is taking place. For him, the hotel is a strangely familiar non-place, completely void of memories, which he wanders through in a disconcerting hallucinatory quest for his missing prosthesis. Dentures is an unusual short film which enjoys gently confusing viewers and thwarting their expectations. Guided by the wanderings of a disoriented father, the film works a discontinuous and ingenious temporality that ends up in an explosive narrative chaos. Short Film Market Picks Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival, 2023 Official Selection Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, 2023 Tickets 5/3/24, 4:00 AM Eventive Writer/Director Siddharth Potade & Nikhil Lama Siddharth Potade is a filmmaker from Ratlam, India, who loves telling stories in different ways. He originally studied mechanical engineering but later moved to Mumbai to work in the Hindi film industry. Since 2015, he's been gaining experience as an assistant and associate director in films and commercials. Siddharth Potade's debut short film, "Dentures," a collaborative effort with co-director Nikhil Lama, made a resounding impact with its world premiere in the International Medium Length & Short FilmCompetition Section at the prestigious Visions Du Réels film festival. Director: Siddharth Potade & Nikhil Lama Producer: Prabhav Sharma Writer: Siddharth Potade & Nikhil Lama Cast: SreeRam Dive, Satish Bhave, Dhananjay Kanade, Nirmal Kumar Devda, Kamal Chiplunkar, Mayuresh Bhave Editor: Parashar Naik Crew: Jigmet Wangchuk, Abhijit Chetia, Rahul Rabha, Arnav Moulik This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

Time & Location April 15, 2025 at 3:00:00 PM The Rosette | 3908 Avenue B Suite 116, Austin, TX 78751, USA About the Event Anurag delves deep into the world of cinema, sharing his invaluable insights, experiences, and tips that have shaped his illustrious career. Don't miss the chance to meet the Maverick who changed the landscape of Indie Indian Cinema and is credited as the face of New Wave Indie Cinema. About the Artist Anurag Kashyap is 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. IM Master Class Series: Filmmaking Workshop with Anurag Kashyap Anurag Kashyap delves deep into the world of cinema, sharing his invaluable insights, experiences, and tips that have shaped his illustrious career.

2023 Felt Cute Might Delete Later Short Nepali, English mins 12 Virtual 2023 Nepal Comedy, Family Tickets 4/28/23, 5:00 PM Free with IMFF Badge Director Swati Regmi The film was conceptualized by Swati Regmi, participant of the ‘stories we tell workshop” conducted in Nepalgunj. Swati’s story was selected out of 6 workshop participants. Director: Swati Regmi Producer: Writer: Sahara Sharma Cast: Swati Regmi, Rabita Regmi Editor: Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2021 The Return Documentary English, Urdu mins 18 Virtual 2021 India Family Tickets 4/28/23, 5:00 PM Free with IMFF Badge Director Hena Ashraf Hena Ashraf is a writer-director who creates character-based multi-layered narratives, showing how truly connected we all are with the specific being universal, focusing primarily on stories about migrants and migrant life, as migration is such a common, while disruptive, experience. Born in London to Bihari Muslim working-class parents from India, she spent her early years in the United Kingdom before immigrating to America. Hena’s work has been supported by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Tribeca Film Institute, the Islamic Scholarship Fund, the Norris Foundation, BAFTA Los Angeles, MPAA, Wasserman, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation, an ISF National Film Grant, Telluride FilmLAB, the Caucus Foundation, Tasveer Film Fund, and more. Director: Hena Ashraf Producer: Writer: Hena Ashraf Cast: Roshni Shukla, Shurud Shanto, Aishveryaa Nidhi Editor: Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2024 So, That Happened Short English, Urdu mins 9 In-Person, Virtual 2024 USA Drama Sheila gets a phone call from her mom letting her know that a family friend, Imran, is moving back to town. Her mom is adamant that Sheila should do her duty as a good daughter to extend a hand and makes sure he feels welcome. Eventually, Shelia relents to her mom’s request. When she hangs up the phone, she goes to Imran’s Facebook page and reminisces about her college days. The pair meet at a wine bar in the early evening, and their hangout lasts for several hours. They talk about how the city has changed, what they are both up to, their dating lives, and finally their one night stand in college. Imran said that Sheila ghosted him, and Sheila insists they just fell into different social circles. After this discussion, Imran asks, “and now?” They have a very affectionate and passionate moment, but Sheila abruptly pulls away. Imran asks if he did anything wrong, and Sheila tells him a secret. The film ends on an ambiguous note. In-Person Q&A with Filmmaker Neha Aziz Tickets 4/17/24, 11:15 PM All Badges, Individual Tickets AFS Cinema Writer / Director Neha Aziz Neha Aziz is a Pakistani-born writer, filmmaker, festival programmer, and podcaster living in Austin, TX. From 2017 - 2020, Neha worked at SXSW as a member of the Communications team. She currently works as the Artistic Director for Austin Asian American Film Festival, Film Programmer for rePRO and the Cleveland International Film Festival, in addition to being the Communications Manager for the Asian American Documentary Network (A-Doc).In 2021, she was named an iHeartRadio NextUP fellow for their inaugural podcast program; her show, PARTITION (limited series) debuted in August 2022 and has been featured on Apple Podcasts, Forbes, NPR, The Austin Chronicle, The 19th News, The Austin American - Statesman, The RepresentASIAN Project, Asian Founded, and more. In 2023, Neha was one of five recipients of the WAVE Grant from Wavelength Productions, a grant and one year mentorship given to first time female/non-binary directors of color. Her short, SO, THAT HAPPENED marked her directorial debut and will premiere in the Spring of 2024. Director: Neha Aziz Producer: Mase Kerwick, Alifya Ali Writer: Neha Aziz Cast: Anu Mysore, Harsh Milan Editor: Anna Romano Crew: Matt Stryker, Carlos Estrada, Anna Romano, Mark Hadley This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2023 Remember Its Flight Short mins 8 Virtual 2023 India Drama A lonely cat in an apartment, watching a pair of doves, learns that there is more in life, called love. Logline: When the dove Teaches a cat how to love; Here is the poem Which the cat repeats to them, And that’s all: “Remember its flight For the bird is mortal”. Tickets 5/3/24, 4:00 PM Eventive Writer/Director/Producer Sasan Golfar Born in 1970 in Tehran, Iran, Sasan Golfar earned his BA degrees in Civil Engineering (Polytechnic Tehran) and Drama Acting (Azad University, Tehran) and pursued Cultural Studies courses for his MA (Allameh Tabatabaei, Tehran). He also studied filmmaking in Youth Cinema Society of Iran and served as actor, director assistant, and editor in a number of 35mm, 16mm, and video short films produced by the Youth Cinema Society. He won a stage acting award in Fajr Student Theatre Festival in 2004 and took on acting roles in Iranian TV series in 2005. As a writer and translator, he has published 14 works, including novels, short stories, and plays with 8 further books to be published in 2023 and 2024. He is a journalist and was the editor of International Cinema in a number of major Iranian newspapers such as Shargh, E'temad and Kargozaran and Tajrobe monthly magazine. He's a film critic and a member of critics Center (Kanoon Montagedan) of Iranian Khane-ye Cinema. As a director, producer, writer, cinematographer, and editor, he made "The Dream of Being Free", "Andante Innicentemente", "Remember Its Flight", "Sisyphus Childhood", "Call of the Wild". In ُthe spring-summer seasons of 2023 he won 'Best Short Film' in the Pageant Film Festival, India for "The Dream of Being Free", 'Best Narrative Short' in Opi Soulplace Festival, Italy and second place in London Music Video Festival for "Remember Its Flight". Director: Sasan Golfar Producer: Sasan Golfar Writer: Sasan Golfar Cast: Editor: Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

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. Back to Festival Program 1/2 Sun. April 16th @ 6:00PM AFS Cinemas POLITE SOCIETY UK I 103 mins I Documentary I 2022 I Hindi w/ English subtitles BUY TICKETS Official Selection: Sundance Film Festival 2023, SXSW '23 Polite Society is a London-set anarchic action comedy that follows Ria Khan, a schoolgirl and martial artist-in-training who dreams of becoming a world-renowned stunt woman. When Ria witnesses her big sister Lena give up on her dreams by dropping out of art school and getting engaged, Ria’s world is shaken. She believes she must save her sister from the shackles of marriage in the only way she knows how, by enlisting the help of her friends and attempting the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of freedom and sisterhood. Polite Society is a merry mash-up of sisterly affection, parental disappointment, and bold and bloody action. About the Artist Nida Manzoor is a British filmmaker who wrote, directed, and created all the original music for her series WE ARE LADY PARTS, which premiered on Peacock/Channel 4 in 2021. The series is an irreverent musical comedy following an all-female Muslim punk band, told through the eyes of a geeky Ph.D. student who is reluctantly recruited to be their lead guitarist. WE ARE LADY PARTS has been nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award, and an Indie Spirit Award, and won a 2022 Peabody Award and the 2022 BAFTA Award for 'Best Comedy Writer'. Manzoor’s debut feature with Focus Features and Working Title, POLITE SOCIETY, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Trailer Thank you to our community partner for this screening: Credits Crew Writer/Director: Nida Manzoor Producer(s): Tim Bevan Eric Fellner Olivier Kaempfer John Pocock Rachel Alabaster DOP: Ashley Connor Film Editor: Robbie Morrison Prod. Designer: Simon Walker Score by: Tom Howe Shez Manzoor Casting Director: Aisha Bywaters Featured Cast: Priya Kansara Ritu Arya Renu Brindle Rekha John-Cheriyan Seraphina Beh Ella Bruccoleri Sally Ann Shona Babayemi Nimra Bucha Akshay Khanna Shobu Kapoor Jeff Mirza Costume Designer: PC Williams Hair & Make-up: Claire Carter

2023 Faces Short English mins 11 Virtual 2023 USA Drama In-Person Q&A with Texas director Kumar Mayank Tickets 4/28/23, 5:00 PM Free with IMFF Badge Director Kumar Mayank 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. Director: Kumar Mayank Producer: Writer: Kumar Mayank Cast: Olivia Tovar, Jasper Jones Editor: Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

The story follows Fatima, a young Muslim girl who is inseparable from her school friends, whether it's sports or a social studies project. However, during the lunch hour, the dynamic changes, as her friends share lunchboxes freely with each other but refuse to share food with Fatima. She begins to feel alienated. Back to Festival Program U.S. Premiere Tiffin India I 10 mins I Drama I 2019 I Hindi w/ English subtitles The story follows Fatima, a young Muslim girl who is inseparable from her friends in school, whether it's sports or a social studies project. However, during the lunch hour, the dynamic changes, as her friends share lunchboxes freely with each other but refuse to share food with Fatima. She begins to feel alienated as she becomes more aware of the reasons for her ostracization. One day, a bunch of boys in the class steal every lunch except Fatima's box. Could this be a new hope to break the alienation? + Screens with SHORTS PROGRAM 2: Youth GET YOUR FESTIVAL BADGE VIRTUAL SCREENING : SUN. APRIL 18 - 3:00PM CT About the Artist Talat Shakeel is a filmmaker based in Agra , Uttar Pradesh. Talat worked as a producer and sound designer on a documentary HOTEL NAZZ, which earned a nomination in South Asian Film Festival 2019. She completed her M.A in Mass Communication from AJKMCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia. Recently, she also contributed as a sound designer for a video portrait HUMJINNS. Talat enjoys writing and wrote several screenplays for her college projects. TIFFIN is her debut short film as a director and writer. Trailer Thank you to our community partner for this screening: the Austin Film Society, the Austin Film Commission! , and Uniting Against Anxiety! Credits Crew Writer/Director: TALAT SHAKEEL Screenplay: TULIKA KUMARI TALAT SHAKEEL Producer(s): GHANIA SIDDIQUE Cinematography: ASHIQUE SAIRA SHAHIR FAISAL SALEEM Editor: GHA NIA SIDDIQUE Sound Studio: PLAN STUDIO Original Score: VIMAL NAZAR RENEESH BASIR Sound Design: MOHAMMED FIBIN Camera Asst.: NABINA CHAKRABORTY Poster: HIMANSHU GUPTA Title Animation: NATASHA RANGANATH