Austin South Asian Film Fest Lineup Aims for Diversity

Rajat Kapoor’s ‘RK/RKAY’ will be the centerpiece feature at the Austin South Asian film festival that begins on Apr.14 (photo Outsider Pictures)

India-West Staff Reporter

AUSTIN, TX – The Indie Meme Film Festival, the city’s leading cinema event curating South Asian independent cinema, is back on the docket. The festival, which had been presented virtually the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, will return in a hybrid format.

Nearly three-dozen films from South Asian filmmakers will be showcased during the festival, a press release said. Films in this year’s inclusive lineup boasts a variety of poignant topics. Each film tells the unique and diverse stories of South Asian lives – a child’s struggle in remote India, an Iranian family seeking asylum in Europe, domestic abuse, alcoholism, mental health, patriarchy, and colonialism.

Through it all, this year’s lineup will be a testament of accepting people for who they are and told in a way where audiences of all backgrounds would be able to relate, the release said.

In-person screenings will take place Apr. 14-17 at Austin Film Society. Those wishing to watch the festival virtually will be able to stream films online, Apr. 22-24.

‘RK/RKAY’ will be the centerpiece feature. It tells the story of a filmmaker struggling to complete his latest creative endeavor and stars veteran Indian actor-director Rajat Kapoor. Kapoor, who gained international acclaim as an abusive uncle in Mira Nair’s ‘Monsoon Wedding,’ will attend IMFF 2022 from India and participate in a Q&A after the film screening.

The Bengali action thriller ‘Rehana’ will be making its U.S. premiere. Cinematographer Sunny Lahiri will headline a Q&A session after the screening of ‘Barah x Barah.’

The diverse Shorts Program features 16 films: Bambirak, Blind Date, Baahar, Mono No Aware, Sheer Qorma, Miniaturist of Junagadh, My Mother’s Girlfriend, Kanya, U For Usha, Testimony of Ana, Not Today, Wade, Chai, An Early Spring, A Coup, An Early Spring, Turning Point and Cycle.

Coming to IMFF 2022 as the Best International Fiction Award winner at Sundance ’21 is Bambirak, a German-Afghan production about a single dad and his daughter trying to establish life in a new country.

For tickets and complete lineup of films: indiememe.com/imff-2022-in-theaters.