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AUSTIN FILM SOCIETY PRESENTS

INDIE MEME FESTIVAL

APRIL 22 - 26 | AFS CINEMA

The 11^th Annual Indie Meme Film Festival announced its film lineup and events for the acclaimed Austin-based film festival celebrating bold and innovative South Asian cinema from around the world. Gala selections begin with a Kick-Off screening of Jitank Singh Gurjar’s Vimukt (In Search of the Sky). Opening Night presentation will feature Tribeny Rai’s Shape of Momo, with screenwriter Kislay in attendance. The Centerpiece screening of Ali Asgari’s  Divine Comedy, will feature an appearance by screenwriter Alireza Khatami. Concluding the festivities, the Closing Night presentation will showcase the documentary Give It a Shot, with director Vaishali Sinha joining the audience to discuss the film’s impact.

This year’s edition will feature a diverse slate of narrative features, documentaries, and short films highlighting voices from South Asian, and Iran. Themes explored through the highly curated selections include explorations of identity, migration, family, politics, and social change. This year’s lineup includes 27 films, (6 narrative features, 4 documentaries, and 17 short films), representing 14 countries, with all screenings taking place at AFS Cinema (6259 Middle Fiskville Road).

Ananyaa Ravi, Indie Meme Board President, said, “As we begin our second decade, we can see the fruits of the meaningful connections this film festival has fostered between our filmmakers and audiences. Our desire to showcase South Asian storytelling has grown into a year-long effort including screenings and events that have drawn attention to what we are doing in Austin from filmmakers and film lovers all over the world.”

Animon Jose, Indie Meme Programming Chair, added, “This year’s ambitious lineup highlights the fearless voices of the South Asian diaspora, pushing the boundaries of storytelling while exploring universal themes of identity, resilience & human spirit, and social change.”

Indie Meme will kick off the festivals’ screenings and events on Wednesday, April 22, with a member mixer at Vivo at The Linc followed by a screening of Jitank Singh Gurjar’s Vimukt (In Search of the Sky). The film is an exploration of the attitudes and challenges that face people with disabilities in rural India. Starring Raghvendra Bhadoriya and Meghna Agarwal as Jasrath and Vidya, as a couple struggling with the financial and social challenges of caring for their developmentally disabled son Naran (Nikhil Yadav), they undertake a religious pilgrimage to the Maha Kumba in hopes of finding a solution. The film won two NETPAC Awards at the Toronto FF.

Thursday April 23 will feature Indie Meme’s Texas Showcase, highlighting the work of locally-based South Asian filmmakers. Highlights will include Rachel Immaraj’s documentary An Unquiet Mind, which explores the lesser‑known realities of obsessive‑compulsive disorder and the experiences of people living with severe OCD. Santosh Dahal’s New Moon Rain about a devoted father’s life disrupted when traditional discipline methods cause him to face harsh accusations and community judgment. Aliza Khan’s Texas Jaanu will make its International Premiere with its debut. In the film, a newlywed cinephile from India befriends a ragtag trio of experimental filmmakers in Austin, complicating her relationship with her white-collar husband.

Friday, April 24 will mark Indie Meme’s official Opening Night celebration, beginning with a Filmmaker Brunch, followed by red carpet entrances and a screening at AFS Cinema, and then concluding with an afterparty at the KMFA Studios’ Event Space (41 Navasota Street). Tribeny Rai’s festival favorite Shape of Momo. Rai’s directorial debut, and loosely based on her life, it follows Bishnu, a woman who returns to her hometown in a Himalayan village after quitting her job only to face mounting family pressures and societal expectations. She quickly discovers she must choose between conforming to tradition or claiming her independence. Kislay, who wrote the screenplay for Shape of Momo, will attend and participate in a post-screening Q&A.

Saturday, April 25 will feature the Centerpiece presentation of Ali Asgari’s sharp-witted satire Divine Comedy. The critically-acclaimed film follows a 40-year-old filmmaker who’s spent his entire career making films in Turkish-Azeri, none of which have ever been screened in Iran. His latest work, once again denied permission to screen, inspires him  to take on an underground mission to showcase his film to an Iranian audience, dodging government censors, and an absurd bureaucracy along the way. Allreza Khatami, who wrote the screenplay for Divine Comedy, will attend and participate in a post-screening Q&A.

Sunday, April 26 will wrap up Indie Meme with a Closing Night Gala screening of Vaishali Sinha’s documentary Give It a Shot, followed by a celebratory afterparty at the Lonestar Court Hotel (10901 Domain Drive). The film looks at the development of a new male contraceptive that could revolutionize family planning and transform women’s lives worldwide. The effort to successfully launch a reversible male contraceptive would mark the first breakthrough of its kind since the modern condom was invented 200 years ago. Vaishali Sinha will attend the film festival and participate in a post-screening Q&A.

Additional highlights among the narrative features include Ishan Shukla’s animated sci-fi feature Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust. The film is set in a society where citizens wear paper bags over their heads to erase social differences. Sivaranjini J’sVictoria explores religious and cultural tensions through the story of a small‑town beautician who runs away with her boyfriend against her family’s wishes. Annapurna Sriram’s offbeat Fucktoys focuses on a sex worker determined to break a strange curse through a chaotic quest across a surreal world of eccentric characters.

The festival’s documentary slate highlights stories of perseverance, science, and human connection. Orlando von Einsidel’sThe Cycle of Love, recounts the remarkable true story of Delhi street artist PK Mahanandia, who bicycled more than 6,000 miles from India to Sweden in 1977 to reunite with the woman he loved. Arjun Talwar’s Letters From Wolf Street offers a portrait of a single street in Warsaw seen through the lens of an Indian immigrant filmmaker seeking connection and understanding.

Indie Meme Film Festival’s shorts programs once again spotlight emerging voices and inventive storytelling. Highlights among the narrative shorts include Sayani Gupta’s  Aasmani, which follows the efforts of a grandmother Smita and her precocious 10-year-old granddaughter to save an “old” classic car. Sayani Gupta will be on hand to participate in a post-screening Q&A. Sheryar Ali’s A Door To My Memory, is a dystopian story about a man struggling to preserve memories in a world where they must be stored on external drives; Adnan Al Rajeev’s Ali, follows a teenager in a coastal town where women are forbidden to sing; and Apurva Bardapurkar’s Blessings (Maaybaapache Aashiriwaad), a darkly comedic tale of parents determined to protect their son’s secret.

Other standout shorts include Mallika Juneja’s Little Fishies, which follows a young girl navigating grief during her father’s funeral rituals; Shubham Negi’s Hills Don’t Dance Alone, set in a Himalayan school where a dance performance sparks unexpected cultural conflict; Making its US Premiere, Mukti Krishan’s Waagh (The Leopard), a haunting story set in Mumbai where a mysterious animal death triggers paranoia and fear in a young boy’s world; and Rishi Chandna’s Kanippu (The Prediction) will make its North American Premiere. The film examines the fragile relationship between climate knowledge and lived experience through the perspectives of a grieving boatman and a meteorologist confronting the unpredictability of nature. Also making its North American Premiere is Amol Jalandhar Jadhav’s Deva Aaj Pan Vhay. The film follows the journey of Deva, a playful and inquisitive young boy who braves rough terrain and harsh weather each day to reach school, where he not only learns from books but from life itself.

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Event Details

• Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2026 - Sunday, April 26, 2026
• Time: Multiple Times
• Venue: AFS Cinema
• Website: https://www.indiememe.org/

Ticket Information

• Cost: Starting at $120.00

Presenter Details

• Name: Austin Film Society & Indie Meme

Step into the vibrant world of South Asian independent cinema in Austin, Texas with Indie Meme. Established in 2013, Indie Meme LLC was born out of a passion for storytelling through film, and a desire to make compelling independent films from South Asia accessible to a wider audience in the United States. The inspiration struck founders Alka Bhanot and Tripti Bhatnagar when filmmaker Surabhi Sharma faced a lack of visibility for her film screening in Austin, revealing a void in the availability and awareness of meaningful South Asian cinema for enthusiasts like herself.

What started as a simple idea, with individual screenings through the year, has blossomed into the Indie Meme Organization, a nonprofit with the mission to bring socially relevant cinema from South Asia to the United States, fostering conversation around issues that bridge continents. Indie Meme has grown since its inception, and in 2016, IMFF@Austin emerged as the festival's signature event, earning the prestigious "Best International Passport - 2016" accolade from The Austin Chronicle. The festival has since become the go-to destination for those seeking unique and powerful stories from South Asia and beyond.

The carefully curated programming showcases slices of life from countries such as India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Iran, and more. Indie Meme is not just a cinematic experience. The organization provides a platform where the audience mingles with filmmakers for post-screening discussions and dialog. It's a community where film enthusiasts converge to engage in conversations that build understanding of cultures half a world away. Indie Meme The driving force behind the organization and the annual Film Festival is the Indie Meme Community, a dedicated group of volunteers and staff that support all aspects of the organization’s programming.

Indie Meme is more than just a film festival — it's a testament to the power of storytelling and the community that thrives on the love for independent cinema. Immerse yourself in a world of diverse perspectives, compelling narratives, and the magic of independent filmmaking from South Asia at the Indie Meme Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

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