The 11th Indie Meme Film Festival wrapped a record-breaking edition of the Austin-based film festival celebrating South Asian film, and announced filmmaker award winners at the Closing Night Awards After Party and Ceremony held at XXXX. Tribeny Rai’s Shape of Momo was a two-time winner, taking both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature. Vaishali Sinha’s Give It a Shot wins the Grand Jury Prize, and Orlando von Einsidel’s The Cycle of Love takes the Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary Feature. The winner of the Audience Choice Award for Short Film was Sayani Gupta’s Aasmani. Gupta had made the trip to Austin from Bombay to represent her directorial debut, and fans of here films were delighted with her appearance at the AFS Cinema.
Regarding Shape of Momo, the jury said, “For its daring cinematic language and profound emotional resonance, Director Tribeny Rai crafts a work that transcends conventional storytelling, merging striking visual composition with a deeply introspective narrative that lingers long after the screen fades to black. The film’s innovative structure and poetic sensibility challenges the boundaries of form while remaining intimately human at its core. Through precise direction and evocative performances, the film captures the fragile interplay between memory, identity, and perception with rare clarity.” Sivaranjini J’s Victoria received an Honorable Mention in the category.
The Narrative Features Jury members were:
Lindsey Ashley, SXSW Film and TV Relations Manager
Yen Tan, Filmmaker
Bijan Tehrani, Film historian, writer, and critic
Vaishali Sinha’s Give It a Shot, which was Indie Meme’s Closing Night selection, received the Grand Jury Prize after captivating the Austin audience earlier that evening with its call to action regarding a male contraceptive breakthrough developed in India in the 70s, yet still not being made available her in the U.S. The Honorable Mention in the category went to Arjun Talwar’s Letters From Wolf Street.
The Documentary Features Jury members were:
Sachin Dheeraj, National Award-winning filmmaker, educator
Stephen Jannise, Senior Director of Film Programming, Paramount and State Theatres
Kalani Gacon’s Family Man received the Grand jury Prize for Best Short Film. The jury said they were impressed with “this elegant film’s fearless approach to pace, tone and mood, trusting the audience with a minimalist sensibility that compels and surprises throughout. A stunning visual and sonic palette brings this spectral meditation on memory, loss and the endless search for belonging to vibrant life.” Chandradeep Das’ Jasmine That Blooms in Autumn received an Honorable Mention in the category. Runners up as the Audience Choice selections for Short Film were Apurva Bardapurkar’s Blessings (Maaybaapache Aashiriwaad), and Amol Jalandhar Jadhav’s Deva Aaj Pan Vhay.
The Short Films Jury members were:
Asha Magarati, screenwriter, producer, and actress
Jim Kolmar, Film curator, consultant, and writer
Mindy Raymond, Film producer, consultant
Austin film fans came out in record numbers to enjoy Indie Meme’s curation of bold and innovative South Asian cinema from around the world. Gala selections began with a Kick-Off screening of Jitank Singh Gurjar’s Vimukt (In Search of the Sky), followed with an Opening Night presentation of Tribeny Rai’s Shape of Momo, a Centerpiece screening of Ali Asgari’s Divine Comedy, and a Closing Night presentation of Vaishali Sinha’s Give It a Shot. Films featured a diverse slate of narrative features, documentaries, and short films highlighting voices from South Asian, and Iran, with themes including explorations of identity, migration, family, politics, and social change. This year’s lineup included 27 films, (6 narrative features, 4 documentaries, and 17 short films), representing 14 countries.
Indie Meme’s Texas Showcase was a highlight including Rachel Immaraj’s documentary An Unquiet Mind, Santosh Dahal’s New Moon Rain, and Aliza Khan’s Texas Jaanu. Additional highlights included 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, featuring the filmmaker’s appearance at the film festival. The festival’s documentary slate was another strong feature of the film festival, including Orlando von Einsidel’s The Cycle of Love, and the appearance of the film’s subject, Delhi street artist PK Mahanandia. As previously mentioned, South Asian film star Sayani Gupta’s appearance with her film Aasmani, was a late-breaking addition to Indie Meme, which could not have provided a better addition to the events on the final day of the film festival.
For more information on Indie Meme, please visit: https://www.indiememe.org/
The 2026 Indie Meme Film Festival Award Winners:
JURY AWARDS
GRAND JURY PRIZE FOR BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
Shape of Momo
Director: Tribeny Rai
NARRATIVE FEATURE JURY HONORABLE MENTION
Victoria
Director: Sivaranjini J
GRAND JURY PRIZE FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Give It a Shot
Director: Vaishali Sinha
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE JURY HONORABLE MENTION
Letters From Wolf Street
Director: Arjun Talwar
GRAND JURY PRIZE FOR BEST SHORT
Family Man
Director: Kalani Gacon
SHORT JURY HONORABLE MENTION
Jasmine That Blooms in Autumn
Director: Chandradeep Das
AUDIENCE AWARDS
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
Shape of Momo
Director: Tribeny Rai
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
The Cycle of Love
Director: Orlando von Einsidel
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT
Aasmani
Director: Sayani Gupta
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT RUNNER UPS
Blessings (Maaybaapache Aashiriwaad)
Director: Apurva Bardapurkar
Deva Aaj Pan Vhay
Director: Amol Jalandhar Jadhav