Sheila and Imran haven’t seen each other since college, but when Imran moves back to Austin, an opportunity arises for the pair to get acquainted once more. AFS Cinema Virtual May 3 - May 5, 2024 So, That Happened USA | Short 2024 | 9 mins | English, Urdu In-Person Q&A with Filmmaker Neha Aziz TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL 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. Restoration Process About the Artist 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. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Neha Aziz Writer: Neha Aziz Producer(s): Mase Kerwick, Alifya Ali Film Editor: Anna Romano Featured Cast: Anu Mysore, Harsh Milan 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.

2023 Sultana's Dream Narrative Feature Basque, Spanish, English, Italian, Hindi, Bengali mins 83 US Premiere In-Person, Virtual 2023 Spain, Germany, India Fantasy, Animation, Drama Inés, a Spanish artist, lives in India and stumbles upon Sultana's Dream a science fiction story written by Rokeya Hossain in 1905. It describes Ladyland, a utopia in which women rule the country while men live in seclusion and are responsible for household chores. Fascinated by the story Inés embarks on a journey across the country to search for the one place where women can live in peace. World Premiere - San Sebastián International Film Festival, Spain Screens with So, That Happened & A Road Not Taken Tickets 4/17/24, 6:15 PM All Badges, Individual Tickets AFS Cinema Director, Producer Isabel Herguera Isabel Herguera is a Spanish animation film director with an international background. She studied fine arts at the Universidad del País Vasco and continued her studies at the Art Academy in Düsseldorf. She later earned a master's degree from Calarts in Los Angeles, where she directed Los Muertitos (1993), an animated short about the wall separating Mexico and the United States. In 1997 she founded her own studio Loko Pictures (1996-2004), with which she produced numerous commercials and her animated short The Balloon (2003). In 2003, Isabel returned to Europe, where she became director of Animac, the Catalonia International Animated Film Festival (2003-12) and coordinator of the Laboratorio de imágen en movimiento at Arteleku in San Sebastian (2003-14). She directed various animated short films that won awards and were nominated for the Goya Prize. Isabel has been a professor at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad, since 2005, at the China Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing since 2012 and has been a professor in the animation department at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne since 2017. She has held workshops on animation in many places around the world such as Ethiopia, China, Cuba, Australia, Korea, Colombia, Mexico and Italy, although this is the place where she has most recently developed her work, in India, which gave rise to the Sultana's Dream project, is her first feature film. Director: Isabel Herguera Producer: Isabel Herguera, Chelo Loureiro, Mariano Baratech, Fabian Driehorst, Iván Miñambres Writer: Isabel Herguera, Gianmarco Serra Cast: Miren Arrieta, Dedjani Mukherjee, Miren Gabilondo, Nausheen Javeed, Ranjitha Rajeevan, Mary Beard, Paul Preciado, Roberto Bessi, Manu Khurana Editor: Gianmacro Serra Crew: Eduardo Elosegi, Gianmacro Serra, Simon Bastian This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

2023 Sona Short Farsi, English mins 15 Virtual 2023 Iran Drama Tickets 4/28/23, 12:00 PM Free with IMFF Badge Director Zahra Torkamanlou Zahra Torkamanlou is a filmmaker from Iran whose work has screened at numerous international film festivals. Director: Zahra Torkamanlou Producer: Writer: Zahra Torkamanlou Cast: Zahra Torkamanlou Editor: Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

A raw look at the hidden world of 'Harm OCD,' following two individuals as they fight to break the silence and shame surrounding their most intrusive thoughts. April 23, 2026 at 6:00:00 PM AFS Cinema Texas Premiere An Unquiet Mind USA | Documentary 2025 | 76 mins | English Live Q&A with producer Kovid Gupta and distribution producer Sarah Kuck Shown as part of the Texas showcase TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL New York Women in Film and Television and ReelAbilities Film Festival: Excellence in Directing Award 2025 DC South Asian Film Festival: Best Documentary 2025 Tasveer Film Festival 2025 Beyond the common myths of light-switch flipping and hand-washing lies the hidden, harrowing reality of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In this raw and deeply intimate documentary, director Rachel Immaraj pulls back the curtain on "Harm OCD"—a stigmatized form of the condition where sufferers are haunted by intrusive, unwanted thoughts of causing harm to those they love most. The film follows Natasha and Vinay as they navigate the invisible internal battles of Post-Partum and "Taboo" OCD, fighting a culture of shame that often leads to extreme isolation. By interweaving their personal journeys with expert insights, An Unquiet Mind reframes OCD not as a quirky personality trait, but as a complex neuropsychiatric battle. It is a powerful, essential film that seeks to replace silence with a movement of radical understanding and support. Restoration Process About the Artist RACHEL IMMARAJ is a filmmaker from Austin, Texas who works in set decoration for film, television, and commercials. Her recent work includes shows such as A24’s Mo on Netflix and 1923 on Paramount +. Movies she collaborated on have premiered at Sundance and SXSW, and commercial clients she designed for include Hugo Boss, ESPN, Shiner, & Instagram. Rachel’s interest in documentaries began when she was in high school during her family’s summer visits to India. She began documenting stories first through 35mm street photography, and then moved on to creating short documentaries for various organizations. AN UNQUIET MIND is Rachel’s directorial debut. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Rachel Immaraj Writer: Producer(s): Kovid Gupta Natasha Paradeshi Film Editor: Travis Lee Ratcliff Lee Rothenflue Featured Cast: Vinay Krishnan Natasha Peters 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.

2023 Bandar Short Hindi, English mins 15 Virtual 2023 India Romance, Drama Neil eagerly anticipates his reunion with his girlfriend, Hiya, after a year spent long distance. However, when he picks her up at the airport he’s taken aback to find a workaholic version of his once carefree partner. 

As he spirals down memory lane, Hiya accidentally ruins a surprise he’d had planned for them. This comical mishap brings back the Hiya he once knew and reignites the spark they once had. Tickets 5/3/24, 11:00 AM Eventive Writer/Director Geet Gangwani A copywriter turned filmmaker, Geet is driven to human stories and waves ideas out of the fabric of his surroundings and beyond. 

In 2021, he created PNG Films, a media house dedicated to storytelling through a variety of formats through which he directed, produced, and wrote his debut film, PAV BHAJI, which was very well received at the film festival circuit and has garnered more than 10 awards and been an official selection of 14+ festivals, including CSAFF, MUMBAI INDE FF, & VISAFF. 

After receiving a scholarship to study at NEW YORK FILM ACADEMY, Get has been working in NYC and expanding PNG films. PNG Films is now a close-knit team of dedicated collaborators, united by a love of cinema and advertising. Director: Producer: Ghalib Datta Writer: Geet Gangwani Cast: Ria Nalavade, Jai Khadilkar Editor: Ranjabati Sarkar Crew: Leslie D'Souza, Kartikeye Ojha, Yash Soni, Yash Shinde 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, 12:00 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

2022 The Horse From Heaven Short Assamese, English mins 15 Virtual 2022 India Drama "Best Cinematography" - Himalayan Film Festival Tickets 4/28/23, 12:00 PM Free with IMFF Badge Director Maharshi (Tuhin) Kashyap Maharshi (Tuhin) Kashyap is a final year student at Satyajit Ray Film And Television Institute (SRFTI), Kolkata and a practicing film-maker hailing from Assam. He has written screenplays for three feature length films Boroxun-Songs For Rains, Hero, and Bulu Film. His short film, Kaan Phus Phusot Phus Phusoni, won best student film at International Moving Film Festival, Iran. His recent short, Mur Ghurar Duronto Goti, has been screened at the Cineteca National Museum, Mexico as well as Kolkata International Film Festival and others. His documentary film, Water Water Everywhere was screened at Nagari Film Festival, Urban Lens Film Festival and others. Director: Maharshi (Tuhin) Kashyap Producer: Writer: Maharshi (Tuhin) Kashyap Cast: Atul Pachani Editor: Crew: This Event is supported in part by a Mini Grant from Humanities Texas. Community Partners for the Film More Films

The story of a young tribal girl who rises from the ashes to proclaim her most essential rights, over her body and the decisions upon it. Shot with an all tribal cast at Attapadi in Kerala. April 16, 2023 at 3:15:00 PM AFS Cinema International Premiere Dhabari Quruvi India | Narrative Feature 2022 | 105 mins | Irula TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Official Selection of the International Film Festivals of India, Kerala, and Chennai This is the story of a naive tribal girl who, facing an unwanted pregnancy, rises from the ashes to proclaim her most essential rights, those over her body and the decisions upon it. Set amid the Irula Tribal Community at Attappadi in Kerala, DHABARI QURUVI is noted as the first film to star an entirely tribal cast. The production included around sixty people, belonging to Irula, Muduka, Kurumba and Vaduka tribal communities. Dhabari Quruvi draws story inspiration from a folk myth that exists among the tribal communities at Attapadi. The title refers to a sparrow, whose father is unknown. Restoration Process About the Artist Priyanandanan is a National Award Winning Director from Kerala who has achieved great acclaim for his plays, feature films, and television projects. His directorial ventures in plays include Vaikom Muhammad Bashir's LOVE LETTER (Premalekhanam), Joy Mathew's SANKADAL, N Sasidharan's KITCHEN (Adukkala), and many more. These dramas, staged across India, received many accolades. Priyanandanan commenced his film career under famous directors KR Mohanan, PT Kunju Muhammed, and Manilal. He began by filming newsreels and documentary shorts, including FIGHT FOR MAN AND LAND & THE HISTORY OF STRIKES IN THRISSUR DISTRICT. He also directed several television films including four based on MT Vasudevan Nair's short stories. His first feature film, NEYTHUKARAN, examined the life of a weaver, who was an ardent supporter of E. M. S. Namboodiripad, the first ever Chief Minister of Kerala State. Veteran Actor Murali won the Indian National Award for 'Best Actor' for this film. His second movie, PULIJANMAM, received the National Award for 'Best Feature Film' in 2006. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Priyanandanan Writer: Priyanandanan Kuppuswami Maruthan Smitha Sylesh K. B. Hari Lijo Panadan Producer(s): Ajith Vinayaka Anila Sojan ('Aevas Visual Magic') Film Editor: Ekalavyan Featured Cast: 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 scientist’s decades-long quest for a reversible male contraceptive sparks a modern revolution in this look at the future of reproductive equality. April 26, 2026 at 6:00:00 PM AFS Cinema Texas Premiere Give It A Shot India | Documentary 2026 | 93 mins | English, Hindi, Bengali Live Q&A with director-producer Vaishali Sinha TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Big Sky Documentary Film Festival - 2026 Jury Award for Best Documentary - Indie Meme Film Festival 2026 GIVE IT A SHOT is a tender, quietly humorous portrait of Dr. Sujoy K. Guha, a visionary whose 1970s quest to develop a reversible male contraceptive set out to redefine reproductive responsibility forever. Decades later, his groundbreaking work continues to echo, inspiring a new generation of scientists, startups, and activists determined to bring his invention to the global stage. Director Vaishali Sinha takes us on a high-stakes, deeply human journey where science meets stubborn persistence, challenging long-held norms about who carries the burden of family planning. At its heart, Give It A Shot reframes the conversation around reproductive rights by centering an often-overlooked perspective: the role of men in a shared, radically equal future. It is a film filled with warmth, curiosity, and the hope that accountability can finally become a collective act. Restoration Process About the Artist Vaishali Sinha is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, and director of the feature documentaries Made in India (PBS) and Ask the Sexpert (PBS, Netflix). Her work has earned numerous honors, including the Critics Choice Award in India, a Grierson nomination for Best Entertaining Film, and a Ridenhour Peace Prize nomination for Excellence in Truth-Telling. Made in India became a case study at Harvard Business School in a course on ethics, while Ask the Sexpert achieved wide distribution across major platforms, including Netflix India. Vaishali was also a development consultant for the Academy Award–winning short documentary Period. End. Of. Sentence. and is currently on the producing team for multiple projects. She is a Fellow at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center and co-founder of Bitchitra Collective: Indian Women in Documentary, a peer-driven support network. She has mentored emerging filmmakers at Firelight Media Doc Lab, Kartemquin Film’s Diverse Voices in Docs, BAVC, and the Video Consortium. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and a diploma in 16mm film production from The New School, New York. Vaishali lives in Brooklyn with her husband and their child. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Vaishali Sinha Writer: Producer(s): Vaishali Sinha Hemang Chheda Film Editor: Featured Cast: 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 Team Tripti Bhatnagar Advisors Co-Founder & Advisor Co-Founder of Indie Meme, Tripti believes in the persuasive power of cinema. She trusts that meaningful cinema has the potential to influence masses and facilitate change. Through her efforts Tripti aims to connect socially conscious cinema with a wider audience.

Bombay fishermen Rakesh and Ganesh are inheritors of the Koli knowledge system of harvesting the sea following the moon and the tides. Rakesh has kept faith in the traditional fishing methods; Ganesh has instead embraced technology. April 21, 2024 at 12:45:00 PM AFS Cinema Virtual May 3 - May 5, 2024 Texas Premiere Against the Tide India | Documentary 2023 | 97 mins | Koli, Marathi, Hindi Recorded Q&A with Filmmaker Sarvnik Kaur TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL Sundance Film Festival 2023 World Cinema Documentary Competition 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. Restoration Process About the Artist 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. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Sarvnik Kaur Writer: Producer(s): Koval Bhatia Sarvnik Kaur Film Editor: Atanas Georgiev Blagoja Nedelkovski Featured Cast: 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 man undergoes a mysterious transformation as a flowering plant begins to grow from his mouth, forcing him to confront his evolving relationship with his teenage daughter and the delicate balance between change and acceptance. Eventive Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 North America Premiere Flowering Man India | Short 2023 | 24 mins | Hindi TICKETS DONATE TO NEPAL "Paridrishya" International Festival of Short Films and Documentaries Karnataka Symbiosis Film Festival International Festival for Short Documentary & Fiction Films- Best Director Award in the Short Fiction category JIO MAMI year Round Programme, Goa In The Flowering Man, a middle-aged man experiences an inexplicable transformation when a delicate flowering plant begins to sprout from his mouth. As the phenomenon takes hold, he struggles to understand its significance while navigating his relationship with his teenage daughter. What begins as a surreal affliction soon becomes a profound metaphor for growth, acceptance, and the silent emotions that often go unspoken between loved ones. Through striking visuals and an evocative narrative, the film explores themes of metamorphosis, human connection, and the quiet resilience found in embracing change. Restoration Process About the Artist Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar is an Indian filmmaker known for his thought-provoking storytelling and unique cinematic vision. He studied Direction and Screenplay Writing at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), graduating in 2017. Dastidar's short film, The Flowering Man (2023), has garnered critical acclaim and was showcased at the 16th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK). The film explores the metamorphosis of a man who begins to grow a flowering plant from his mouth, symbolizing his transition and evolving relationship with his teenage daughter. In addition to The Flowering Man, Dastidar has directed other notable works, including Taap - About Mercury Rolling Down the Bodies (2020) and Whispers of the Henna Tree (2021). Dastidar's films often delve into themes of identity, transformation, and human relationships, reflecting his commitment to exploring complex narratives through cinema. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar Writer: Soumyajit Ghosh Dastidar Producer(s): Film & Television Institute of India Film Editor: Arirtra Majumdar Featured Cast: Tanishka Meesala Rajeev Gaur Singh Maitreyaa Trilok Khairnar 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.