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Chandra and her husband, Dharam, run the Swizerland Homestay, an inn perched above the only road in a small Himalayan village. The terrain poses a problem, as they must transport their son Prakash down the mountain in his wheelchair for doctor's visits and school. Though Chandra believes Prakash needs more medical atte Back to Home Page NOTE: Due to distribution rights, this event is streaming ONLY in the United States. June 25th - 27th Free to Members $5 / non-members Venue: Filmocracy Virtual Screening Fire in the Mountains India I 82 mins I Drama I 2020 I Hindi w/ English subtitles In this astonishing feature debut from director Ajitpal Singh, a mother toils to build a road to take her son, who has limited mobility, to physiotherapy. Her husband, believing a shamanic ritual is the true remedy, sabotages her plans. While trying to stay afloat on the slim profits of their Himalayan homestay, the family begins to fracture. FIRE IN THE MOUNTAINS premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. It went on to critical acclaim and a flourishing festival run, including serving as the Opening Night Selection at the Indian Film Festival of LA and the Closing Night Selection at the New York Indian Film Festival. "Singh displays a Nuri Bilge Ceylan- level authenticity in his visual, unhurried portrayal of rural life. " - Variety ON DEMAND STREAMING + Q&A FRIDAY, JUNE 25 - SUNDAY, JUNE 27 About the Artist Ajitpal Singh was born in Punjab, India. When he was eight years old, his father ran a cinema hall, and Singh would sneak into the theater to watch Bollywood films. Life took a bitter turn when, due to insurgency, the family suffered huge losses and migrated to Gujarat, where his father worked as a security guard. Still, the filmmaking bug never left him, and after doing some odd jobs, he started writing screenplays. FIRE IN THE MOUNTAINS is Singh's feature debut and premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. Other honors include an Audience Award for Best Feature at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles and the Jury Award for Best Director at NYIFF. Official Trailer HOW TO WATCH: on TICKET + = WATCH LIVE FROM HOME Create Free Account Credits Crew Writer/Director: AJITPAL SINGH Producer(s): AJAY RAI ALAN MCALEX MAULI SINGH AMIT MEHTA Cinematographer: DOMINIQUE COLIN Editor(s): PARIKSHHIT JHA SIMON PRICE Sound Designer: MOHANDAS VP Production Design: MAUSAM AGGARWAL Cast VINAMRATA RAI CHANDAN BISHT MAYANK SINGH JAIRA HARSHITA TEWARI SONAL JHA Casting Director: TARAN BAJAJ Sound Recordist: KANISHK BHOKLAY Original Soundtrack: ARNAUD VAN VLIET Production Company JAR PICTURES

Meet our 2024 sponsors, patrons and supporters. We are grateful to these organizations to help bring independent films from South Asia to our audience. Our 2024 Sponsors Thank you to our generous sponsors for their support of Indie Meme's Festivals & Programs. Our corporate, media, institutional, & local business sponsors 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! Presenting Sponsor IMFF is in part supported by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin, Economic Development Department. Producing Sponsor Directing Sponsors Scripting Sponsors Gold Sponsors Silver Sponsors We are grateful to our 2015 , 2016, 2017 , 2018, 2019 , 2020 , 2021 , 2022 , and 2023 sponsors. BECOME A SPONSOR

2022 The Cloud Messenger Narrative Feature English, Malayalam, Sanskrit mins 148 In-Person 2022 India Drama, Fantasy, Romance "An avant-garde marvel" - Nidhi Verma (Platform) In-Person Q&A with Director Rahat Mahajan Tickets 2/4/24, 9:00 PM $15.00 AFS Cinema Director Rahat Mahajan After finishing school at the Lawrence School Sanawar in the Himalayan mountains, Rahat enrolled for an M.F.A. at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. He developed various projects at the school in collaboration with mentors with diverse backgrounds, helping him grow through a deepening understanding of the craft and an ongoing consolidation of his own worldview. His debut feature film “Meghdoot/The Cloud Messenger” was in the Tiger Competition at The International Film Festival of Rotterdam 2022 and further travelled to BFI London Film Festival, São Paulo International Film Festival and several other festivals across the globe. The film recently won the Special Jury Mention at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Director: Rahat Mahajan Producer: Sanjay Singh, Rahat Mahajan, Nalin Agarwal Writer: Rahat Mahajan Cast: Ritvik Tyagi, Ahalya Shetty, Raj Zutshi, Kapila Venu, Peesappilly Rajeevan Editor: Crew: Rahat Mahajan, Anil Pingua, Nikhel Kumar Mahajan, Kunal Sharma This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

As part of the fourth Indie Meme Film Festival, we are continuing an initiative to engage our youth. IMFF Youth We have always encouraged youth participation as volunteers or as filmmakers. Recently we have been showcasing the work of young filmmakers from South Asia and have been blown away by their ability to tell original and amazing stories on tough and heartbreaking subjects. We also recognize that there is a growing South Asian population with young adults who have a unique understanding of their world being born to immigrant parents. We are eager to provide an opportunity to such young adults to showcase their movie-making talents and wow us with their short films. Questions? Write to us - youthfilms@indiememe.org SELECTED FILMS We are so excited to announce the winners of the Youth Film Festival The Hours by Kirra Putnam received the Jury's choice award for best film #UsToo by Avni Singh received a special mention. We are very happy to announce the lineup of Youth Movies for the Festival. Here is IMFF2019 Selection of films eligible to participate in "Best Youth Film - Jury award": Aurat ki Izzat directed by Zahra Tapal #UsToo directed by Avni Singh Tashi Delek directed by Sidharth Srinivasan Dhol directed by Ana Dragomir The Hours directed by Kirra Putnam Bored Games directed by Amrit Chandar Additionally we will be screening the following youth films (Not in competition): What love looks like directed by Nisa Kini Dream Chasers directed by Vikrant Singh and Annika Singh Robolobos directed by Sanjana Gagrani Congratulations to all the Youth Directors! Come watch their artistic creations on the 14th of April 2019. Get your tickets now Youth Advisors TANIA ROMERO Born in Nicaragua, Tania Romero is a media production instructor and award-winning filmmaker. She is passionate about empowering young people through the practice of filmmaking. With over 10 years of teaching experience, she loves it when students rise to the challenge of writing, producing, and editing short films. GIL GARCIA Gil Garcia is a Producer and Freelance Filmmaker with an extensive background working in Media Arts Education. A graduate of The University of Texas Radio Television Film Program, Gil started in advertising, producing video for companies like GSD&M and LatinWorks. He then spent ten years teaching digital film production and broadcast journalism at Stephen F. Austin High School in Austin, Texas, putting the program in the national spotlight by garnering top honors and recognition from the Obama Administration, The Student Television Network, SXSW, NPR, The BBC, and many others. Gil was named “Distinguished Broadcast Adviser of the year” in 2016 by the National Journalism Education Association and he is a media education consultant for The Austin Independent School District, React To Film, and the PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs. He also serves on the Community Advisory Board for KLRU, the PBS affiliate in Austin, Texas. A leader in the field of media arts education, Gil co-wrote the third edition of the textbook, "Television Production & Broadcast Journalism", the highest selling text in the nation among high school film programs. Photo Gallery Follow us on Facebook

Pakistan's 2019 Oscar contender about Adeel - a cab driver and conman with dreams to leave Karachi and start a new life in Dubai. And Aliya Malik, a widow desperate to find and bring justice to the target killers who murdered her husband. Neither of them realise they’re in over their heads. Laal Kabootar Austin Tickets Austin Screening on Wed, 12/11 AFS Cinema 2019 | 102 MIN. | Urdu ; English Subtitles DFW Screening on Thu, 12/12 Angelika Film Center - Plano DFW Tickets Film-maker in attendance at both screenings. SYNOPSIS Adeel is a cab driver and conman with dreams to leave Karachi and start a new life in Dubai. Aliya Malik is a widow desperate to find and bring justice to the target killers who murdered her husband.In a circumstantial meeting, the two realise they can help each other. Adeel, through his contacts on the streets, can help Aliya find her husband’s murderer. In exchange, she’ll give him enough money to flee to Dubai. But neither of them realise they’re in over their heads, and so begins an intriguing cat and mouse game through the streets of Karachi. Movies are better in groups - Invite friends and family to the event: MEDIA PARTNERS COMMUNITY PARTNERS AUSTIN DALLAS TRAILER DIRECTOR'S PROFILE Kamal Khan Kamal Khan is a Pakistani filmmaker who realized his passion for film while studying at the University of Southern California. After returning to Pakistan, he joined Frequency Media, as a Video Producer and worked on Coke Studio Pakistan for 5 years. After having produced & directed award winning music videos and commercials, Kamal Khan directed his debut feature film, Laal Kabootar, which was released to critical acclaim. FILM STILLS 1/1

An American -Indian gay couple travels to India to adopt a child living with HIV in an Indian orphanage. Will the couple be able to cope up with the cultural challenges in India? Saving Chintu India | 24 MIN. 44 SEC. |Hindi, English Subtitles Virtual Screening Details: "Shorts Showcase" Sunday, Nov 8 2020 | Screening : 7.00pm Register SYNOPSIS An American-Indian gay couple travels to India to adopt a child living with HIV in an Indian orphanage. Will the couple be able to cope up with the cultural challenges in India? Sam and Oliver are a gay couple who travel all the way from the United States to India to adopt Chintu The little boy is infected with HIV and lives in an orphanage. However, there are bumps on the road as India’s adoption rules do not favour same sex couples, which acts as a deterrent to complicate the situation. Sam seeks the help of his close friend Meera to cross the hurdle. This leads to a misunderstanding with Oliver who feels left out. Simultaneously, we are introduced to Dr. Sanjay and his wife Asha who consider adoption to make their family complete. Will Sam and Oliver be able to overcome the obstacles they face? And will Chintu be saved and get a loving home to experience the bliss of parental love? That’s the answer we look for in the film. DIRECTOR'S BIO Kabeer Khurana Tushar Tyagi is an Indian born and raised filmmaker. He holds a degree in Computer Engineering and a degree in Directing and Filmmaking From a very early age, he realised he wanted to tell stories, and show life as art and art as life . For detailed biography and filmography please see the directer's IMDB profile - https://www.imdb.com/name/ STILLS SLIDE DECK 1/3

< Our Team Manpreet Grewal Executive Board Treasurer Manpreet is a seasoned global finance executive with extensive international experience across Asia, the Middle East, and the Americas. A Chartered Accountant and Certified Public Accountant, he has held senior leadership roles including CFO, COO, and Director in global organizations such as Dell, Asurion, Agility Logistics, and Shutterfly, managing business units ranging from $100 million to $1.2 billion. With more than two decades of leadership experience, he has successfully guided multicultural teams—up to 2,300 employees—through growth, transformation, and operational improvement. He brings deep expertise in financial governance, process excellence, and organizational effectiveness, and has a proven record of implementing enterprise-wide systems, leading business turnarounds, and developing future leaders. A Six Sigma Green Belt, Manpreet is recognized for a data-driven yet people-centered approach to leadership, fostering collaboration and accountability across complex global environments. Having lived and worked in ten countries, he values diversity, inclusion, and transparency—principles that align closely with nonprofit stewardship and community service. Outside of work, he is a proud parent of two boys. An avid Golfer, cyclist and outdoor enthusiast, he has participated in multiple charity bike rides across Asia, raising funds for community causes. He believes in giving back, both through professional contribution and personal engagement.

When going on vacation with his self-involved relatives and family friends, a shy and sensitive university student discovers that there is a heavy price to pay. A Death in the Gunj Plano: August 31st 2017 @ 7:15 - 10:00 pm India / 2017 / 110 minutes / Hindi and Bengali with English subtitles SYNOPSIS Set in 1979, A Death in the Gunj is a coming of age story, about a shy student Shyamal Chatterjee. He uses a family road trip to McCluskiegunj, an old Anglo-Indian town, as an escape from his failed semester. At the outset, the makings of a perfect family holiday are in place but something is amiss. In the week that follows, Shutu's quiet unraveling is overlooked by the family revellers, until the holiday ends with an implosion. August 31st 2017 @ 7:15 - 10:00 pm Angelika Film Center - Plano, TX 7205 Bishop Rd, Plano, Texas 75024 Follow event on Facebook Interested in screening this in your hometown? Write to us Tickets TRAILER STILLS DIRECTOR'S PROFILE Konkona Sensharma is an award-winning actor from India. A Death in the Gunj is her first feature film as writer and director. She is the daughter of Aparna Sen, an award winning filmmaker herself, and granddaughter of Chidananda Dasgupta, a film historian and critic and one of the co-founders of the Calcutta Film Society along with Satyajit Ray. Beginning her acting career at the age of 4, Konkona has acted in over 40 films in Hindi, Bengali and English. She has been felicitated with two National Awards and several industry awards. Konkona Sensharma debuted as a director in 2006 at the Kala Ghoda Film Festival in Mumbai in 2006 with her short film ‘Naamkoron ’ The script for A Death in the Gunj was one of the 9 scripts shortlisted by the National Film Development Corporation of India, for their Script Lab and was mentored by Marten Rabarts. ( Creative director.)Konkona was invited to be part of the jury at the Barcelona Film Festival in 2006. In 2013, she also served on the jury of the 15th Mumbai Film Festival. At the Satyajit Ray Memorial Lecture in Melbourne, Konkona gave a lecture on Arthouse vs. Mainstream. The lecture was organised in partnership with the Indian Film Festival (2014). DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT McCluskiegunj has always been a magical place for me. It is an isolated, sleepy town where we used to visit my grandparents in my childhood. It is a place where many stories were born, one such story is the birth of the Gunj. The Anglo Indian community, most of whom never felt that they belonged in either India or England, were forever in search of home or ‘muluk’. That was how McCluskiegunj took birth with 300 Anglo Indian families in 1933. This Utopia began to fade soon after Indian Independence and by the late 70s, most of them had left in search of better economic prospects, leaving the town to its original tribal inhabitants. While these two marginalized groups, the Anglo Indians and Adivasis, struggled to integrate with mainland India, Shutu, our protagonist too, finds himself increasingly alienated from his own world. The search for home and identity is reflected in Shutu who struggles to fit in and belong. This is the story of what happens when he doesn’t. Perhaps it was an attempt to recreate for myself my childhood and my parent’s youth that made me set the film in 1979. Most of my crew were either not born then or too young to remember very much! Our main challenge during pre-production therefore was to re-create a forgotten era. My Cinematographer Sirsha Ray, Production Designer Siddharth Sirohi and I felt it was imperative that we shoot on real location. Even though no other films had been shot there and the infrastructure was so poor, the local residents made everything possible. On our recces, they opened up their hearts and homes to us. Soon we were taking copious notes and pictures and even carting off their furniture to dress our set! Thanks to them, our wonderful cast, Music Director Sagar Desai and the whole team, we were able to create an authentic time and place to tell our story. CAST Vikrant Massey as Shutu, Ranvir Shorey as Vikram, Kalki Koechlin as Mimi, Tillotama Shome as Bonnie, Gulshan Devaiah as Nandu, Jim Sarbh as Brian, Tanuja Mukherjee as Anupama, Om Puri as OP Bakshi, & Arya Sharma as Tani CREW Producers Ashish Bhatnagar - Studioz IDrream Raagii Bhatnagar - Studioz IDrream Vijay Kumar R Swami - Studioz IDrream Honey Trehan – MacGuffin Pictures Abhishek Chaubey – MacGuffin Pictures DOP - Sirsha Ray Editors - Aarif Sheikh and Manas Mittal Costume Designer - Rohit Chaturvedi Sound Designer - Kunal Sharma Production Design - Siddharth Sirohi Music Composer - Sagar Desai Director - Konkona Sensharma Screenplay - Konkona Sensharma Additional Screenplay - Disha Rindani Script Supervisor - Disha Rindani Adapted from – Mukul Sharma FILM FESTIVALS ATTENDED World Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2016 Asian Premiere at Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) 2016 Indian Premiere and Opening Film at Mumbai Film Festival, MAMI 2016 US Premiere and Opening Film at South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) 2016 Official Selection at International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) 2016 AWARDS Director Konkona Sensharma received the 'MasterCard Best India Female Filmmaker 2016 Award' at the 18th Mumbai Film Festival, MAMI.

With 11 different parts directed by 11 different directors, X: Past is Present represents the next level of the average anthology film. X : Past is Present 2015/ India/ 106 minutes/ Hindi, English, Tamil & Bengali with English subtitles Interested in screening this in your hometown? Write to us With 11 different parts directed by 11 different directors, X: Past is Present represents the next level of the average anthology film -- with all of its stories woven together to make one overarching narrative. SYNOPSIS A filmmaker with a mid life crisis meets a mysterious young girl who reminds him of his first girlfriend at first, and subsequently, of every woman in his life. Who is she? Is she real or imaginary? A stalker or a ghost? His past catching up or a character from the script he is writing? A bold and original take on man-woman relationships, X: Past Is Present is a one-of-its-kind feature where 11 Indian filmmakers with strikingly different cinematic styles have come together to make different parts of the same film. One story told through the eyes of 11 unique storytellers. COMMUNITY PARTNER Tickets TICKETS NOT AVAILABLE TRAILER MEET THE FILM MAKERS Abhinav Shiv Tiwari Anu Menon Hemant Gaba Nalan Kumarasamy Prat im D Gupta Qaushiq Mukherjee aka Q Raja Sen Rajshree Ojha Sandeep Mohan Sudhish Kamath Suparn Verma MEET THE WRITERS Abhinav Shiv Tiwari Anu Menon Hemant Gaba Prat im D Gupta Q Raja Sen Rajshree Ojha Sandeep Mohan Sudhish Kamath Suparn Verma Thiagar ajan Kumarar aja

< Our Team Uma Riddle Festival Team Festival Programming Uma is a UT Austin graduate with an interest in South Asian and International cinema, Documentary filmmaking, and Geography. She has been working with Indie Meme for over three years as an intern, a member of programming, and Project Manager for the Indie Meme Archival Project.

2023 Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (The World is Family) Documentary Marathi, English, Hindi mins 96 Texas Premiere In-Person, Virtual 2023 India Documentary ‘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. Best Editing, International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) In-Person Q&A with Director Anand Patwardhan Tickets 4/20/24, 8:30 PM All Badges, Individual Tickets AFS Cinema Production, Direction, Editing Anand Patwardhan 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”. Director: Anand Patwardhan Producer: Anand Patwardhan Writer: Cast: Editor: Anand Patwardhan Crew: Anand Patwardhan, Simantini Dhuru This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

< Our Team Staff Madhavi Deshpande Film Festival Coordinator Madhavi Deshpande is a long-time "Memer" and has been part of the Indie Meme team for several years. She joined the IM staff in 2023 as the IMFF 2023 Coordinator, and has continued to serve in that position again in 2024.