Sharmila Ray

We asked industry voices what they wish someone told them before submitting to their first film festival 🎬 Save this video for before you submit!

Akashic Study Hall is this Friday! If you are a current Akashic practitioner, you’re invited to come do a self study in the records! Akashic study hall is hosted by students from Relational Akasha (level 2 of the mentorship). This study hall is hosted by Sharmila Ray @saywhatfoo and the theme is “Finding play and joy in these times” Registration link in bio. $5-$15 sliding scale *all proceeds go to the facilitator.

The official lineup is here! 🎬
Short Films – Part 1 at the 11th Indie Meme Film Festival 
The stories you don’t want to miss. Ali (Texas Premiere) — Dir. Adnan Al Rajeev @priyo_adnan_bhai 
In a quiet mountain village where women’s voices are forbidden, 15-year-old Ali lives with a secret his mother tries to protect. A Door to My Memory (Texas Premiere) — Dir. Sheryar Ali @ali_sheryar 
In a dystopian Lahore, a man struggles to hold on to memories of his late wife as technology and access limit what he can keep. Blessings (Texas Premiere) — Dir. Apurva Bardapurkar @apurvabardapurkar 
A darkly comedic story about parents who will do anything to protect their son. Burnt Orange (Texas Premiere) — Dir. Sharmila Ray @saywhatfoo 
A haunting story where a simple phone call about debt turns into something far more sinister. Deva Aaj Pan Vhay (North America Premiere) — Dir. Amol Jadhav @amoljadhavphotography 
A young boy’s journey shows how learning comes from life beyond the classroom. Family Man (Texas Premiere) — Dir. Kalani Gacon @kalanigacon 
In a remote Nepalese village, a mysterious visitor stirs memories of a father long gone. Hills Don’t Dance Alone (Texas Premiere) — Dir. Shubham Negi @shubhamxnegi 
A student’s self-expression leads to conflict and an unexpected emotional connection. Jasmine That Blooms in Autumn (Texas Premiere) — Dir. Chandradeep Das @chandradeepesque 
A quiet love story unfolds in an elderly care home, as two women navigate romance and societal expectations. 📍 AFS Cinema, Austin, Texas
📅 April 22–26 All films have English subtitles. 🎟️ Get your badges today!— link in bio
🎬 Learn more about the films: indiememe.org #IndieMeme #IMFF2026 #ShortFilms #AustinEvents #FilmFestival

It’s been a minute… but wanted to throw this on the grid. My short Burnt Orange got into @pensacolapensacon film festival! The film will be screening on Saturday block #11 at 8pm! Whoooooooooo! We got into a Con! 😂😂😂 If you are in #pensacola please check out the film! Thanks # Pensacon for making us an official selection!

Y’all! 🎥🎞️We did a thing! Got a little film directed before the end of the year with my RISE fellowship circle crew. Lovingly known as the Purple Pod! We took up the challenge from Directing Mentor Rob Spera @robsperaofficial and created 4 cool shorts thematically related to the theme of things- UNSAID. Thank you so much Rob for the inspiration and push. You have no idea how much we appreciate you and the impact you have had on us and will continue to have. These films are just a small sample of the fruit bore from your mentorship. Can’t wait to share ‘Doom Scroll’ and the rest of these films with all of you. The Ancestors did not disappoint and stepped up offering a most outstanding and generous DP in every way- thank you @jamesinfocus for saying Yes and every incredible extraordinary thing you did to level up every one of these projects - and mostly just for the love🖤🙏🏽. Thank you for bringing your equipment, your heart, your skills, your eye and your support team- looking at you @zachaveli James -these films would not be what they are without you and your- everything! A very special thanks and an abundance of gratitude & ❤️‍🔥 to my personal friends who showed up to support everyone’s shoot @tracygrant5439 and @farrahfazal - who also shot BTS footage. And shout out to @b_is_beauty for showing up to crew and @saywhatfoo for wrangling the pods and really being the EP/heart of making all the shoots happen in an an organizational way. We had a small but mighty Purple Pod team who created some wonderful projects. Lovely to be on set with you all my fellow Purple Pod Directors: @adriennerosewhite @cedialirajah @thedevanshi with special acknowledgement to the fabulous Adrienne who was a rockstar actor in all 4 films and provided a kick*ss location! We did it! 🥳 Thank you @ridebackrise for bringing us together and giving us so much including the mentors, creative support, inspiration, guidance and platform to continue telling our stories! This fellowship is the gift that keeps on giving- proud to have had the opportunity to participate for a 2nd year. See you at the screening! #rideback #rise #director #producer #writer #filmmaking #filmmaker #gratitude

Hi Hi! My short Burnt Orange has been nominated for Outstanding Experimental short! Whooooo! So excited to be screening @micheauxfilmfest on Friday 10.24.25 at 1:40pm at the Culver Theater! If you can't make it you can screen it virtually here- /micheauxfilmfestival/play/68e862e53f0b35add880bbc0/68dc10f7ac7de0738561fa53

WE BET ON YOURSELF! Come join us at this years @micheauxfilmfest and watch our films we put our WARRIORS SPIRITS into! ⚔️ @crystalgix_ -TAKE A NOTE Sat, Oct 25th, 2:25 PM @ Culver Theater Auditorium 3 -THE DEBT Sat, Oct 25th, 12:40 PM @ Culver Theater Auditorium 3 @jamaltrulove -I THOUGHT YOU’D NEVER ASK Sat, Oct 25th, 2:45 PM @ Culver Theater Auditorium 5 @rsindher -FLIGHT 182 Sat, Oct 25th, 3:25 PM @ Culver Theater Auditorium 3 @saywhatfoo -BURNT ORANGE Fri, Oct 24th, 1:40 PM @ Culver Theater Auditorium TCES @thekengregory -BECOMING SIDNEY Sat, Oct 25th, 3:25 PM @ Culver Theater Auditorium 3 CLINK THE LINK IN OUR BIOS FOR TICKETS OR DM us for more information. #MicheauxFilmFestival

Insta has not been my fav… but this event is worth the document… @sidewalkfilm festival was truly a great experience. It reminded me of why I wanted to be a filmmaker, reintroduced me to a community that really cared for films not for its namesake, and attached talent, but for work that moved and inspired their programmers. Community driven- Birmingham really showed up to support and fill the theaters with people willing to watch original content and take the chance on everything! The work was solid! The social interaction with the other filmmakers was genuine! It got me out of my jaded LA bubble to connect with people from all over the country! It was so lovely that my film Burnt Orange got some love as it was featured in the festival’s opening trailer… I’m tagging the folks that we connected with! Give them all a follow! Congrats to our festival buddy @imeetuk for your win with @outdoorschoolmovie and to the brothers @voltronprinting that we had some deep conversations with- and bought waaaaaay too many shirts!

Hi hi! I’m excited to announce my short film Burnt Orange is an official selection of the @sidewalkfilm I’m on the plane… right now with @reenaray heading to Birmingham! Whoooo! Wanted to thank all the crew and cast that worked on this film. We got a laurel!!!! Yasssssssss! Just a little about the film, the inspiration for this project came from a nightmare I had about the Devil trying to take my teeth! I connected that dream to my aversion to money and student loan collectors pestering me. The title burnt orange comes from the color of the California sky during wildfires season- hence more fear. I added a tiny homage to the film maker Maya Deren because Meshes in the Afternoon has a special place in my heart. We will be premiering Saturday 8.23.25 - during the Genre Block- after dark. #indiefilmmaking #filmfestivals #alabama

Your favorite family is back. Season 1 of Everybody Still Hates Chris is now streaming on Paramount+ The past… uh 3ish years have been spent working on this show! So glad that everyone can watch it finally! This has been a great experience working with an amazing team!!! Thanks to @heysanjay for being such a dope ass boss! @_girl_alex such a dope ass line producer @titmouseinc for the art! I never thought animation would be part of my career path, certainly happy that it’s become an option! Watch the show!!! #paramountstudios #animation #everybodyhateschris #everybodystillhateschris #cartoon #chrisrock

Hi Everyone! I wanted to offer my homies a free 15 min Akashic Records / Tarot readings on zoom! Within the last two years I have started the practice of opening the akashic records and pulling tarot cards. To be honest, I was a bit resistant to both practices and felt skeptical about this woo woo shit at times. It wasn't until I took a year long mentorship with @crystalsofaltamira that I realized that I guess this is fo realz yo! If you have ever been curious about the Akashic Records or Tarot this would be a gentle way to give it a shot. It's been a cray year of transition and if you are looking for some insight / guidance to 2025, this could be a fun jump off. I'm not looking to make this a business, I am just looking to expand my skill set. I'm still doing film / tv stuff... but I have discovered that I do have some fun gifts that I would like to share with anyone that is interested. DM me for more info. Let's get into it! #akashicrecords #tarot #woowooshit #collectiveconsciousness