Tribeny Rai‘s “Shape of Momo” will open the 11th annual Indie Meme Film Festival in Austin on April 24, with Vaishali Sinha’s documentary “Give It a Shot” closing out the celebration of South Asian cinema on April 26.
Ali Asgari’s “Divine Comedy” has been selected as the Centerpiece presentation for April 25, with screenwriter Alireza Khatami joining the post-screening Q&A. The festival kicks off April 22 with Jitank Singh Gurjar’s “Vimukt (In Search of the Sky).” The 2026 edition comprises 27 films – six narrative features, four documentaries and 17 short films – representing 14 countries, with all screenings at AFS Cinema.
Rai’s “Shape of Momo,” her directorial debut, drawn loosely from her own life, centers on Bishnu, a woman who abandons her job and returns to her Himalayan village, only to find herself pulled between family obligation and personal freedom. Screenwriter Kislay will attend and take part in a post-screening Q&A.
The festival opens April 22 with a member mixer ahead of the Kick-Off screening of Gurjar’s “Vimukt (In Search of the Sky).” The Indian film follows an impoverished elderly couple whose developmentally disabled son has become a source of shame in their village. In search of a path forward, they join the Maha Kumbh pilgrimage – held once every 144 years – hoping the journey will change their fortunes. The film took home two Netpac Awards at the Toronto Film Festival.
Asgari’s “Divine Comedy,” produced across Iran, Italy, Germany, France and Turkey, follows Bahram, a 40-year-old filmmaker whose work in Turkish-Azeri has never been granted permission to screen in his home country. Denied once again, he takes matters into his own hands, launching a clandestine effort – aided by his Vespa-riding producer Sadaf – to get his film in front of Iranian audiences while outmaneuvering censors and an absurdist bureaucratic apparatus.
Sinha’s closing night selection “Give It a Shot,” a Canada/India/U.S. co-production, follows the decades-long scientific push to bring a reversible male contraceptive to market, centering on 83-year-old Indian researcher Dr. Sujoy Guha and a development team based in the U.S. Sinha will participate in a post-screening Q&A.
Among the additional narrative features, Ishan Shukla’s animated sci-fi “Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust” (India/France/Germany) imagines a near-future society in which inhabitants cover their faces with paper bags to neutralize social hierarchies – until a new council member inadvertently sets off a revolt. Sivaranjini J’s “Victoria” follows a small-town Indian beautician whose elopement with her Hindu boyfriend draws her into an increasingly complicated web of religious and cultural tensions. Annapurna Sriram’s “Fucktoys” takes a surrealist approach to the story of a sex worker on a chaotic quest to break a curse.
The documentary slate includes Orlando von Einsidel’s “The Cycle of Love,” the story of Delhi street artist P.K. Mahanandia, who in 1977 made an extraordinary overland bicycle journey from India to Sweden in pursuit of the woman he loved. Arjun Talwar’s “Letters From Wolf Street” uses a single road in central Warsaw as a lens through which an Indian immigrant filmmaker tries to make sense of his adopted country. Rachel Immaraj’s “An Unquiet Mind” turns the camera on the rarely examined realities of severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The festival’s Texas showcase on April 23 spotlights locally based South Asian filmmakers, highlighted by the international premiere of Aliza Khan’s “Texas Jaanu,” in which a newlywed cinephile newly arrived from India falls in with a group of experimental filmmakers in Austin, unsettling her marriage in the process. Also featured is Santosh Dahal’s “New Moon Rain,” about a father in America whose reliance on traditional disciplinary methods brings down harsh judgment from those around him.
The shorts program includes several premiere presentations. Mukti Krishan’s “Waagh (The Leopard)” makes its U.S. premiere, while Rishi Chandna’s “Kanippu (The Prediction)” and Amol Jalandhar Jadhav’s “Deva Aaj Pan Vhay” both receive North American Premieres. Sayani Gupta, who directed the short “Aasmani,” will attend and take part in a Q&A. Further shorts include Sheryar Ali’s “A Door To My Memory,” Adnan Al Rajeev’s “Ali,” Apurva Bardapurkar’s “Blessings (Maaybaapache Aashiriwaad)” and Mallika Juneja’s “Little Fishies,” among others.
Board president Ananyaa Ravi said the festival had grown well beyond its origins as an annual event. “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,” she said. “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.”
Programming chair Animon Jose said this year’s selections reflected the vitality of South Asian diasporic filmmaking. “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,” he said.
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