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Interesting in volunteering for Indie Meme? Find out how you can get involved. Volunteer for Indie Meme Indie Meme Org brings progressive South Asian cinema to Texas and we're always looking for bright, passionate people to join our family. We are so glad you are interested in joining us! There are many ways you can help us out: spread the word, become a member , and attend our events ! But if you're looking for a way to become part of the Indie Meme family, or want hands-on experience in learning what it takes to put an ENTIRE film festival together - apply to be a volunteer below! Volunteer for the Organization Indie Meme volunteers are essential for putting our annual film festival (IMFF ) and non-festival programming throughout the year. Volunteer for Indie Meme and meet interesting people, make new friends, and connect with international filmmakers. Perks include tickets to all films being screened and an opportunity to attend our Member Mixers and filmmaker events. Apply to be a Volunteer

Mariam, mother & breadwinner for her migrant family in Mumbai, decides to become an illegal surrogate to support her children but faces unexpected challenges. Back to Festival Program 1/2 Streaming April 28-May 1st, 2023 On Filmocracy MARIAM India I 78 mins I Drama I 2021 I Hindi w/ English subtitles WATCH ONLINE From the producers of the acclaimed drama, 'Hotel Salvation' Official Selection of Busan International Film Festival MARIAM follows a rural family, newly arrived in Mumbai and trying to make ends meet as migrant workers. The breadwinner is Mariam, who has to look after her three daughters and their education during the COVID pandemic. Soon, she finds an unexpected path to earn for her family - serving as an illegal pregnancy surrogate. However, when problems with the potential parents arise the issue of who will ultimately raise the child is called into question. About the Artist Born in Chauri Chaura, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, Arvind Pratap is a self-taught screenwriter, editor and director based in Mumbai. After completing an MBA in marketing, he decided to pursue a career in film making. THE RELUCTANT CRIME (2020), Pratap's first feature, won 'Best Director', 'Best Actress', and 'Best Supporting Actor' at Antakya International Film Festival. His second experimental feature LIFE IS SUFFERING DEATH IS SALVATION had its world premiere at International Film Festival of Kerala. MARIAM, his third feature, received support from Asian Cinema Fund and was selected to world premiere at the Busan International Film Festival. Credits Crew Writer/ Director: Arvind Pratap Producer(s): Abhishek Yadav Sanjay Bhutiani Shubhashish Bhutiani Awanish Kotnaal Arvind Pratap Sajida Sharma Cinematographer: Sunil Dalvi Cast: Chitrangada Satarupa Bhupesh Singh Music by: Keshuv Huria Sound Design: Biswadeb Banerjee Film Editor: Arvind Pratap

Kamla is a full time maid in upwardly mobile modern India family’s home. The film attempts to understand a class relationship in an atmosphere of love. Hamare Ghar 30mins / Short Narrative/ India SYNOPSIS Filmmaker – Kislay Kamla works as a full time maid in upwardly mobile modern India family’s home. Where the lady of the house is affectionate and regularly showers her with gifts and old clothes. In this ‘modern’ home, there is no obvious violence and hierarchies but, as Kamla slowly realizes, it is hidden behind caring words and gestures of love. The film attempts to understand a class relationship in an atmosphere of love and affection. Hindi with English Subtitles Tickets TICKETS NOT AVAILABLE TRAILER

Three intertwoven stories of loneliness and isolation, the story follows Janan, a woman from Afghanistan who travels to the UK for artificial insemination. Top of Page Tickets Top of Page Tickets Utopia Afganistan/80 min/ Dari, English, Hindi with English Subtitles SYNOPSIS Three intertwoven stories of loneliness and isolation, the story follows Janan, a woman from Afghanistan who travels to the UK for artificial insemination. Complications arise when William, a medical sciences student who works in the clinic switches the donor’s semen for his own. What will happen when Janan finds out? FESTIVALS AND AWARDS Official entry Afghanistan best foreign language to Academy Best Director: Jaipur international film festival Best Actress: international Asian world film festival Best Actress: Delhi international film festival Golden Award, at prestige film award . Excellency awards at accolade global film competition . Best film at May film festival Official selection of more than 20 festivals Follow event on Facebook Interested in screening this in your hometown? Write to us TICKETS NOT AVAILABLE Tickets TRAILER STILLS DIRECTOR'S PROFILE HASSAN NAZER Hassan has been involved in most aspects of the performing arts since he was a child. He had the opportunity to learn under the guidance of Mr Hamid Samandarian one of Edward Max top five students. Hassan played in The Caucasian Chalk Circle one Iran’s biggest selling play. He went on to study theatre at Art University in Tehran and quickly found his talents lay in directing. He went on to study Film at Aberdeen University, Scotland and later obtained his Degree. ‘Here Iran’ is Hassan’s second feature film and was shot in Tehran at the end of last year. The film is currently on the festival circuit and was nominated best foreign film on it’s first outing. Hassan is currently working on his next feature film ‘Utopia’ starring Leila Hatami who played one of the the lead roles in Asghar Farhadi’s Oscar winning ‘A Separtation’. Directed By: Hassan Nazer Written By: Amir Aghaee Produced By: Chris Robb Producer Mohsen Ali Akbari Production Designer: Marcel Beranek Director of Photography: Hakon Palsson (India) Yiannis Manolopoulos (UK) Amhad Kavousi (Afganistan) Cast: Martine Malalai Zikria Homayoun Ershadi Andrew Shaver Bhasker Patel Arun Bali Hannah Spearritt

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

2023 The Verdict Narrative Feature English, Tamil mins 135 In-Person 2023 India Drama A middle-aged Indian woman accused of murdering a rich American woman; an innocent husband who loves his wife; a journey of this couple where karma proves at the end “what goes around comes around”. Tickets 6/18/24, 11:45 PM AFS Cinema Writer/ Director Krishna Sankar Director: Krishna Sankar Producer: Prakash Mohandas Writer: Krishna Sankar Cast: Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Sruthi Hariharan, Prakash Mohandas, Vidyullekha Raman, Suhasini. Editor: Sathish Suriya Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2022 Desi Standard Time Travel Short English mins 20 Virtual 2022 Canada Drama, Family, Comedy Tickets 4/28/23, 5:00 PM Free with IMFF Badge Director Kashif Pasta Kashif Pasta is an award-winning director, writer, and producer using film and storytelling to tell character-driven stories centered on South Asian and Muslims with a sense of joy and wonder. He is the co-founder of Dunya Media, a production company that empowers filmmakers of color to tell stories with purpose, where he recently won the 2022 SXSW Grand Jury Prize and Audience Awards- Music Video as a producer. Director: Kashif Pasta Producer: Writer: Kashif Pasta Cast: Adolyn H. Dar, Ali Kazmi, Anika Zulfikar Editor: Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2023 Against the Tide Documentary Koli, Marathi, Hindi mins 97 Texas Premiere In-Person, Virtual 2023 India Documentary Bombay fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh are inheritors of the great Koli knowledge system—a way to harvest the sea by following the moon and the tides. Rakesh has kept faith in the traditional fishing methods while Ganesh has strayed away from them, embracing technology. Against the Tide is a tale of deep friendship and rising resentment between the two men, as close as brothers, against the backdrop of an adoring sea, which is increasingly turning hostile because of climate change. Sundance Film Festival 2023 World Cinema Documentary Competition Recorded Q&A with Filmmaker Sarvnik Kaur Tickets 4/21/24, 5:45 PM All Badges, Individual Tickets AFS Cinema Director & Producer Sarvnik Kaur Sarvnik Kaur is a documentary filmmaker whose work takes a skeptical stance towards the ‘grand narratives’ of modernism and ‘Scientific Certainties’. Made of moments that hide anxiety and conflict just beneath the surface of the normal and the mundane, her films speak of the predicament of being human in our times. Her latest feature documentary ‘Against the Tide’ premiered at Sundance 2023 where she bagged the Special Jury Award for Verite Filmmaking. The film since then has received several awards including the Grand Jury at the Seattle International, the Best Documentary Award at IceDocs, the UN Perception Change Award at Visions-du-Reel, the Sustainability Award at Sydney International, The Warsaw Peace Award and also the Paznun City Freedom Award at Millenium Docs Against Gravity. Her first film ‘Soz - A Ballad of Maladies’ was awarded the President of India’s 64th National Award for best debut direction besides bagging the best film at IDSFFK 2017 and the Ram Bahadur Trophy for Best Film at the Film South Asia 2018. Her films have been part of several PHD thesis of film scholars at New York University, Harvard University, JawaharLal University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences etc. She is a HotDocs Accelerator Lab, Chicken & Eggs Eggcelerator lab and IDFA Academy fellow. Her films have been supported by Catapult Film Fund, Sundance Documentary Fund, San Francisco Film Fund, IDFA Bertha Fund etc. Made of moments that hide anxiety and conflict just beneath the surface of the normal and the mundane, her work speaks of the predicament of being human in our times. Director: Sarvnik Kaur Producer: Koval Bhatia, Sarvnik Kaur Writer: Cast: Editor: Atanas Georgiev, Blagoja Nedelkovski Crew: Ashok Meena, Igor Vasilev Novogradska, Moinak Bose This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2022 Coming Out with the Help of a Time Machine Short English mins 15 Virtual 2022 India Comedy, Drama, Sci-fi "Best LGBTQ+ Short Film" - DFW South Asian & Cleveland International Film Festival Tickets 4/28/23, 5:00 PM Free with IMFF Badge Director Naman Gupta Naman Gupta is an award winning director and writer who has gained recognition for his work that reflects a commitment to diversity and inclusivity.He has a talent for integrating contemporary social issues into entertaining narratives, creating thought-provoking and emotionally engaging stories. Naman is an alumni of Ryan Murphy's Director Shadowing program and the winner of NETFLIX sponsored Tasveer Film Fund, as well as a semi-finalist of NBCUniversal's Launch Director Shadowing Program. Director: Naman Gupta Producer: Writer: Naman Gupta Cast: Karan Soni, Sangeeta Agrawal, Raghuram Shetty Editor: Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2022 Periyanayaki Short English, Tamil mins 11 Virtual 2022 New Zealand Drama Tickets 4/28/23, 5:00 PM Free with IMFF Badge Director Bala Murali Since graduating from the University of Auckland in 2018 with an MA in Screen Production, Bala Murali Shingade has been working as a writer, director and actor for screen and theatre. For his MA thesis film, Bala was awarded the Geoff Evans Prize for Screen Excellence. In 2019, he wrote, directed, and edited 800 LUNCHES, a short film commissioned and funded by the Outlook for Someday. Director: Bala Murali Shingade Producer: Writer: Bala Murali Shingade Cast: Jeyagowri Sivakumaran Editor: Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2024 The Road Not Taken Short Telugu mins 13:30 North American Premiere In-Person, Virtual 2024 India Drama ‘The Road Not Taken’ revolves around a woman who decided to quit her day job to pursue her acting career, only to encounter a challenge that compels her to reconsider her decision. Indian World Film Festival 24, Hyderabad Tickets 4/17/24, 11:15 PM All Badges, Individual Tickets AFS Cinema Director Sarthwik Bollu Born and Grew up in India, Sarthwik's debut as a filmmaker came to life with a short narrative, "The Road Not Taken." As a self-taught writer/director, he cultivated a versatile taste for storytelling, finding inspiration in a varied spectrum of Indian and global cinema. This exploration led him to recognize the profound influence films can wield in navigating personal narratives intertwined with universal themes. Having contributed to various short film projects in supporting crew roles, Sarthwik recently wrapped up the shooting phase of his latest project, “ORGANIZIZED,” which is currently in the post-production stage. Inspired by Martin Scorsese's wisdom that "You can train to become a better filmmaker by being YOURSELF,” Sarthwik is learning to explore the realm of cinema through authentic artistic expression. Director: Sarthwik Bollu Producer: Prithvi Raj Karreddula Writer: Sarthwik Bollu Cast: Sirisha Andavolu Editor: Crew: Prithvi Raj Karreddula This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

Time & Location October 6, 2025 at 10:30:00 PM ACC - Highland Campus | 6101 Highland Campus Dr, Austin, TX 78752, USA About the Event Acclaimed filmmaker Onir, celebrated for redefining queer and independent cinema, joins Indie Meme for an exclusive live & in-person masterclass. Known for films that challenge conventions, spark dialogue, and resonate globally, Onir will share insights from his creative journey and inspire you to tell bold, meaningful stories. Whether you’re a filmmaker, student, or cinephile, this intimate session is not to be missed. This event is free to Indie Meme members. Thank you to ACC RTF for partnering on this event. About the Artist Born in Bhutan, Onir is an award-winning Indian filmmaker, producer, screenwriter, and editor. His landmark debut My Brother… Nikhil (2005) was one of the first mainstream Hindi films to address AIDS and same-sex relationships. In 2011, his anthology film I AM won the National Award for Best Film (Hindi), becoming one of India’s first major crowd-funded projects, exploring themes of LGBTQ+ rights, displacement, and child abuse. Recent works include Pine Cone (2024), which premiered at BFI Flare and was inspired by his memoir I Am Onir and I Am Gay (Penguin Viking), and We Are Faheem & Karun (2025), also premiering at BFI Flare. Onir additionally directed a story in the Australian anthology My Melbourne, centered on diversity and inclusion. IM Master Class Series: Breaking Boundaries in Filmmaking with Onir Acclaimed filmmaker Onir, celebrated for redefining queer and independent cinema, joins Indie Meme for an exclusive live & in-person masterclass.