Page 48 - May 2021

IMFF 2021- Virtual Film Festival

experience. Attendees were
encouraged to explore the
platform almost like a game,
with a clickable Festival
Village Map that included
different buildings you could
enter with your own avatar –
that is if you chose to turn on
your camera!
Most in-person
festivals usually open with an
opening night, meet and
great, followed by film
screening and Q and A.
Despite being a virtual

Indie Meme has been bringing artistic, out-of- festival – this structure was
the-box South Asian Film screenings to Texas certainly maintained effectively by
since 2013. This year the 2021 film festival was a Indie Meme. Prior to the screenings,
virtual edition that was made accessible to remote the attendees could be at virtual tables
audiences across the United States over the last where they could chat and mingle with
two weekends in April. In the past Indie Meme has other audience members. This made
selected a wide range of socio-political dramas, the festival highly personable and a lot
engaging narratives, animated adventures and of fun to attend – and of course you
incisive documentaries showcasing new voices. This could bring on your favorite beverage
year was no different, however I felt that this year’s to make the experience even more real.
buzz over the selection was more pronounced. Being Christine Chung, the Festival
an indie filmmaker myself I’m always looking out Coordinator mentioned that “In a
for out-of-the-norm films, films that are free in nature time where we may feel disconnected,
and not engineered by commercial expectations. the Indie Meme Film Festival 2021 is
So here I was ready to attend the fest with a feeling incredibly excited and honored to be
of eclectic excitement as the day came closer for showcasing over 20 narrative features,
the opening night. Additionally I had read that this documentaries & short films over 6
year, interestingly, imff2021 had also upped their days that can connect us all.”
game by partnering with a new streaming platform, Though I may not have been able to
Filmocracy, which was tailored to suit the unique needs screen all the films, I certainly caught
of the festival and the Indie Meme community. This quite a few:
unique platform had been designed to gamify the
experience and maximize the interactivity of the

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