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Music Box Films debuts Venice prize winner Familiar Touch, a fresh take on the process of aging, at Film Forum in NYC ahead of limited national expansion. Written and directed by Sarah Friedland in her feature debut, it stars Tony-winning stage actress Kathleen Chalfant as Ruth, an older woman with dementia who enters an assisted living facility where she must contend with new faces, routines and surroundings as her own identities and desires shift.

Ruth resists identifying with her aging neighbors but connects with care workers there (Carolyn Michelle and Andy McQueen) and is drawn towards her son (H. Jon Benjamin), whom she mistakes for a suitor. A former cook, Ruth finds agency preparing meals in the facility kitchen. She slides into younger selves as she embraces the sensory experiences of the community’s activities and daily life. But when the reality of her situation sinks in, Ruth feels betrayed...

Note: This review was originally published as part of our TIFF 2023 coverage. The Queen of My Dreams opens in theaters on June 20.

The apple rarely falls far from the tree and religion too often convinces said apple and tree of the opposite. This is the case with Mariam (Nimra Bucha) and Azra (Amrit Kaur) in Fawzia Mirza’s Pakistani-Canadian dramedy The Queen of My Dreams. Both are / were rebellious in their youth, desperate to cut a path that they desired beyond the boundaries of Islam or their parents. And yet both discover they are confined by those same boundaries through culture, generational trauma, and guilt.

That said, this isn’t a somber affair. Not really. Yes, it revolves around the untimely death of Azra’s father / Mariam’s husband Hassan (Hamza Haq), but the tragedy itself is as much a means to expose the cracks in this faltering mother-daughter relationship...

For players of a certain age, the beat ‘em up genre will forever be the pinnacle of gaming. Popularized first in arcades, then cemented at home during the Sega Genesis and Snes era, games like Golden Axe and Streets of Rage were a staple of cooperative action gameplay for a generation. And although plenty of developers have upheld the time-honored tradition of pairing up buddies to kick all kinds of enemy ass in recent years, no company has hit the mark quite like the retro revival artists at Dotemu.

Since...

In the latest consolidation move among content creators in Scandinavia, Sweden’s top production banners Art & Bob and streaming-oriented Breakable Films have come together under the newly formed media group CoStudios, owned by H&m heir Tom Persson’s private investment group C0_Made.

Joining the two film and TV production outfits in the new group is Scandinavian podcast outlet Third Ear Studio.

The long-standing Art & Bob is credited most recently for the David Dencik-led realistic prison drama “Pressure Point” which bagged the coveted Nordic Series Script Award in Göteborg, as well as the mini-series “Dreaming of England” from head-writer Lisa Ambjörn (“The Young Royals”). The outfit is currently producing Netflix’s first period drama “The New Force” lined up for a 2026 launch.

Meanwhile the four-year-old Breakable Films, co-founded by Viktor Linnell and Mikael Ljung, has fast made its mark on the Nordic scripted market, with several films and series targeting the streaming generation.

Amrit Kaur is a revelation in this warm film about a Pakistani Canadian who learns of her mother’s swinging 60s heyday in Karachi

‘I used to worship my mother,” confides the voiceover. “I thought she was perfect. I tried to be like her, but I wasn’t.” You’d need a heart of stone not to be moved, even just the slightest, by this confident debut from Canadian director Fawzia Mirza. Funny and warm, her film tells the story of a young gay Pakistani Canadian aspiring actor, Azra (Amrit Kaur), and her complicated relationship with her mother. It slips just a little too easily into the generic pigeonholing of first generation south Asian narratives, but rattles along with fun and energy.

It’s 1999 in Toronto and Azra is showing her “roommate” (in actual fact her girlfriend) her favourite movie, the 1969 Indian musical Aradhana, which she watched on repeat with her mum as a kid.

Peccadillo Pictures is proud to announce that it will release Fawzia Mirza’s award-winning feature directorial debut The Queen Of My Dreams in UK cinemas on 13th September. The film, which features outstanding performances from the entire cast, the movie’s heart lies in Mirza’s very personal look at her own family dynamics and quest for self-discovery. It’s an insightful, comedic, and moving examination of South Asian identity.

The Queen Of My Dreams is a semi-autobiographical film by writer/director Fawzia Mirza about her experiences as a queer Canadian woman of south Asian heritage.

1999, Azra (Amrit Kaur) travels from Toronto to Karachi after her father Hassan’s (Hamza Haq) sudden death, forcing her to confront her complicated relationship with her mother Mariam (Nimra Bucha).

The film flashes back to 1960s Karachi, portraying a booming, groovy period where the young Mariam (also played by Kaur) rebelliously pursues her own path in life.

SeriesFest, the television event in Denver, drew dozens of independent creators over the last few days and has now handed out some awards for its pilot competition.

Some 45 pilots from around the world were in competition at the tenth iteration of the festival.

Check back later this week to hear from a number of the creators about their plans to breakthrough with their own independent projects.

Winners included Shazia Javed’s Potluck Ladies and Jesse Toledano’s Broken Toilets, while Anna Camp-starring Neo-Dome, from Mark and Matt Pfeffer scooped the audience award.

Potluck Ladies won the drama awards. It follows Sumaira, Azra, and Ruby, who live in “The Wives Condos” in the suburbs of Toronto with their children, while their husbands work in other countries. They initially meet at potluck lunches, a weekly guilt-free escape from the loneliness of immigrant life. At first glance, they seem to be living perfect lives,...

International television festival and non-profit organization SeriesFest revealed the winners of its Season 10 Independent Pilot Competition at an awards presentation on Sunday in Denver, capping off the 2024 event. Jurors screened 45 pilots from creative voices around the globe at this year’s milestone celebration and selected winners in categories including “Independent Pilot,” which receives $25K in-kind post production support from Company 3, “Digital Short Series,” “Late Night” and “Pitch-a-Thon.”

The winners of this year’s SeriesFest Independent Pilot Competition include:

Independent Pilot – Drama: Potluck Ladies

Independent Pilot – Comedy: Broken Toilets

Independent Pilot – Unscripted: Breakthrough

Digital Shorts: Problematic

Late Night: Miracle Wood

Pitch-a-Thon: The Haunting of Trisha Lozada

“Our Independent Pilot Competition embodies the very essence of SeriesFest and aligns with our core mission – to champion independent artists,” Randi Kleiner, CEO and Co-Founder of SeriesFest, said in a statement. “With ten seasons under our belt, we’ve been able to establish a platform for showcasing up-and-coming creators,...

NewFest, a New York LGBTQ+ film and media organization, revealed the full lineup for their fourth annual NewFest Pride summer film series. NewFest’s five-day festival kicks off LGBTQ+ Pride Month from May 30 – June 3, 2024, in-person in New York and streaming throughout the United States, and will feature a mix of premieres and conversations, virtual screenings, and social events. The announcement came today from NewFest’s Executive Director David Hatkoff and Director of Programming Nick McCarthy.

“It’s no accident that this year’s NewFest Pride starts on May 30; it’s part of our not-so-secret mission to celebrate Pride 365 days a year,” said NewFest Executive Director David Hatkoff. “We can’t wait to provide a space for the community to come together for bold new films and series, thought-provoking conversations, and joyful social gatherings. This moment calls for celebration and resistance, and we intend to offer opportunities for both in equal measure.

The path to paradise, so it has been foretold in Islamic scripture, is through loving and respecting one's own mother. As axiomatic yet clichéd as this sentiment may seem today, there is some merit to these words: to be connected to the family matriarch is to remain closely tied to one's own culture. To retain such a connection means to possess a greater understanding of who we are, not just as individuals but members of a greater cause. From a three-minute short to a one-woman play to a feature length debut, Fawzia Mirza's ‘The Queen of My Dreams' is an ambitious demonstration of what happens when that connection has been compromised, and the journey required to claim it back.

The Queen Of My Dreams is screening at San Diego Asian Film Festival Spring Showcase

After her father (Hamza Haq) dies tragically during a visit to Pakistan, Azra (Amrit Kaur...

“The Queen of My Dreams” has been on its way to the big screen for more than ten years. Though not originally planned as a feature, writer and director Fawzia Mirza originally saw the story through life as both a short film and a stage play, based on her own experiences as a queer Pakistani-Canadian woman. The title is a literal translation of “Meri Sapno Ki Rani,” the wildly popular Hindi song from 1969’s “Aradhana.”

The film opens with narration from Azra (Amrit Kaur), Mirza’s self-insert, who has a complicated relationship with mother Mariam (Nimra Bucha) — but the two share an uncomplicated, undying love for the movie “Aradhana” starring Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna. When Azra’s father Hassan (Hamza Haq) suffers a fatal heart attack, Azra must join the family in Pakistan to mourn his passing — and salvage a rocky relationship with the only parent she has left.

A narrative trifurcated across decades and generations, Fawzia Mizra’s “The Queen of My Dreams” follows a young Pakistani Canadian coming to terms with her upbringing. It hits all the familiar beats of a first-generation South Asian story and, despite its novel queer bent and tongue-in-cheek casting, it does little to separate itself, thematically or stylistically, from a now repetitive form of “third culture” storytelling.

The sound of a slide projector yanks the film’s opening images into place, as though it were a slideshow of family memories. The year is 1999. The place is Toronto. Azra is a wannabe actress — a profession of which her mother disapproves. She lives with her white, female “roommate” (her parents are none the wiser), to whom she excitedly shows the 1969 Hindi classic “Aradhana” starring Sharmila Tagore. “The Queen of My Dreams” is an English translation of the title of that movie’s most famous song,...

Ahead of its U.S. premiere at SXSW, “The Queen of My Dreams” has been sold to a flurry of international markets, including in the U.K. and Ireland to Peccadillo Pictures.

Represented globally by LevelK, the colorful drama-comedy world premiered at Toronto and had its international premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. “The Queen of My Dreams” will play at SXSW in the Festival Favorites section.

Along with Ireland and the U.K., “The Queen of My Dreams” has secured theatrical distribution deals in Eastern Europe (HBO), Indonesia (Pt. Falcon) and Pakistan (Cine Entertainment). Further sales are currently being negotiated. Cineplex Pictures will give the movie a wide release across Canada starting on March 22.

The film revolves around Azra, a Pakistani woman living in Toronto who is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother. When her father suddenly dies on a trip home to Pakistan, Azra finds herself...

The traditionally celebrity-heavy Toronto Film Festival has unveiled its list of Canada’s best indie films for 2023, which includes a host of first-time directors that have come to the fore as the Hollywood actors strike put local movies and talent front and center at TIFF last September.

Canadian filmmakers were able to grab the spotlight after SAG-AFTRA members barred from promoting studio or streamer projects allowed them to fill the vacuum on TIFF red carpets and at industry events.

New directors were also favorites of Toronto programmers as a shifting TIFF film market with few American celebrities in town also allowed the marquee festival to double down on finding new creative voices.

So here’s the top Canadian feature films of 2023, as decided by film pickers in Toronto.

1. BlackBerry

Matt Johnson’s drama about the meteoric rise of the world’s first smartphone, before its competitive collapse, bowed in Berlin.

Empathy and connection are to be found not in shared characteristics but in parallel experiences in Fawzia Mirza’s gorgeously presented romantic drama, which screened at the 2023 Toronto and Leeds film festivals. Based on Fawzia’s 2012 short of the same name, it’s the story of Azra (Amrit Kaur), a young Canadian woman who lives in Toronto with her girlfriend Rachel (Kya Mosey), and of her mother Mariam (Ninra Bucha), who lives in Karachi and has barely spoken to her when she came out. The two women are reunited following the death of Azra’s father Hassan (Hamza Haq), whom they both adored, but it will take a lot more than that to bring them together in any meaningful way.

Azra grew up worshipping her mother, whom she pictured as a Bollywood heroine, always immaculately dressed and presented. Beyond their shared life, however, she actually knows very little about her.

The Queen of My Dreams played at the London Film Festival last week, to a positive audience response. To mark its showing we had the pleasure of speaking to the leading star, Canadian actress Amrit Kaur, via Zoom.

We discuss her role in the film and the collaboration with on-screen mother Nimra Bucha, while she also speaks about how shooting a film of this nature has helped bring her closer to her own family heritage, as we discuss how unique a job acting is can be in that regard. She also speaks about her love for classic Bollywood films, and how her own journey reflects the film.

Watch the full interview with Amrit Kaur here:

Synopsis

Azra (Amrit Kaur) is ripped away from her happy queer life when her father dies while holidaying in Pakistan. And as she tries to resist conservative norms, Azra finds herself drawn into conflict with...

Fawzia Mirza’s charming debut The Queen of My Dreams begins with a familiar and heartbreaking revelation. “I used to worship my mother,” our protagonist Azra (Amrit Kaur, The Sex Lives of College Girls) says through voiceover. “I thought she was perfect. I tried to be like my mother, but I wasn’t.”

As with most daughters navigating fractious relationships with their mothers, Azra’s entry into adulthood coincided with the shattering realization that her mother is only human. The woman who guided her since infancy and counseled her through challenging moments carries her own traumas. She doesn’t always understand Azra and, perhaps most upsettingly, she might not want to.

The Queen of My Dreams is Mirza’s take on a recognizable theme. It joins a formidable batch of films exploring mother-daughter relationships this festival season, a group that includes Raven Jackson’s gorgeous and poetic film All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt...

In a world where familial ties are often tested by time and tradition, Fawzia Mirza’s latest film, The Queen of My Dreams offers a poignant dive into the dynamics between a rebellious daughter and a mother with a past not so dissimilar. This film weaves various generational narratives together, shedding light on the age-old war between convention and personal aspirations. This is a heartfelt ode to women of different eras who journey through the challenges and triumphs that bind them. The film stars Amrit Kaur, Nimra Bucha, and Hamza Haq.

The film follows Azra (Kaur), a Pakistani Canadian who isn’t concerned with conformity. Naturally, her parents Miriam (Bucha) and Hassan (Haq) aren’t happy with her choosing acting classes and an LGBTQ lifestyle. It is these choices that leave mother and daughter estranged. When her father dies, Azra travels from Canada to Pakistan to mourn with her family.

Cineplex Pictures has picked up the Canadian rights to Fawzia Mirza’s debut feature The Queen Of My Dreams, about an estranged mother and daughter coming of age in different eras, after a world premiere at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival.

Cineplex and partner Shut Up & Color will release the indie in early 2024 in theaters, with Amrit Kaur (The Sex Lives of College Girls), Nimra Bucha (Ms. Marvel) and Hamza Haq (Transplant) starring.

The film has Kaur playing Azra, a queer grad student on a trip to Pakistan facing the sudden death of her father, which sees her collide with her conservative Muslim mother Mariam (Bucha). She also plays the younger Mariam.

Azra soon finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey through memories, both real and imagined. Those flashbacks include her mother’s youth in Karachi, a Bolllywood-style romance with her eventual husband and Azra’s own youth in Canada.

The Canadian...

Et Canada’s Carlos Bustamante caught up with Amrit Kaur on the TIFF red carpet, where she was on hand for the world premiere of her new film “The Queen of My Dreams”.

Kaur, best known for playing Bela in “The Sex Lives of College Girls” stars in the directorial debut of Fawzia Mirza, an expansion of her 2012 short film of the same name.

‌”I feel like I’m very much in the beginning of my work.”

In Mirza’s semi-autobiographical film, Kaur plays queer Muslim grad student Azra, who returns to her ancestral home in Pakistan after the death of her father. While she clashes with her traditional mother, Mariam (Nimra Bucha), who insists she play the role of perfect grieving daughter, flashbacks to Mariam’s own life in Karachi 30 years earlier demonstrate the connections that unite mother and daughter — particularly in their shared adoration of Bollywood star Sharmila Tagore.

Fawzia Mirza’s feature debut, “The Queen of My Dreams,” which premieres Sept. 8 at Toronto, isn’t just a love letter to Bollywood, it’s a love letter to mothers and daughters and intergenerational connections. “It’s an attempt to reflect on the compassion we have for the elders in our lives,” says Mirza.

Amrit Kaur (“The Sex Lives of College Girls”) plays Azra, a Muslim teen living in Toronto. When her father, Hassan (Hamza Haq), suddenly dies, Azra is forced into grieving as she returns to Pakistan. “Ms. Marvel’s” Nimra Bucha plays Miriam, in the coming-of-age film that crosses decades, generations, cultures and beliefs.

“The Queen of My Dreams” began over a decade ago as a short film in which Mirza starred and co-directed with Ryan Logan. “It really began as a private conversation that I was having about my struggle with whether I could be queer and...

It is the feature directorial debut from Fawzia Mirza.

LevelK has boarded international sales for the Canadian/Pakistani dramedy The Queen Of My Dreams, which will have its world premiere in Toronto’s Discovery section. Signature Move’s Fawzia Mirza writes and directs.

Azra, a Pakistani woman living in Toronto, is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother. When her father suddenly dies on a trip home to Pakistan, Azra finds herself on a Bollywood-inspired journey through memories, both real and imagined, from her mother’s youth in Karachi to her own coming-of-age in rural Canada.

Amrit Kaur from HBO...

Comics and graphic novel publisher Ablaze continues to dive into Spring reading action with a bevy of new titles set for release in June and a notable advance solicitation that debuts in July

Action-packed manga and manhwa series launches for June include Wakfu Manga, based on the smash hit Netflix anime series, and the debut of Terror Man, a new manhwa series based on the hit Korean webtoon. Terror Man offers complex, compelling story of an unlikely hero who is misunderstood and unappreciated for the good he does. Terror Man also has an anime adaptation coming soon!

Next up, Ablaze proudly debuts Spot It: Double Trouble, an all-ages graphic novel title based on Spot It, the best-selling, award-winning card game from Asmodee and Zygomatic Games Studio!

An advance solicitation for July also opens with the coming launch of Shepherdess Warriors. The award-winning series is the odyssey of a young heroine...

Manga news today from Comics and graphic novel publisher Ablaze as the company looks ahead to the Summer of 2023 with the announcement of the forthcoming publication of a trio of notable manga, manhwa and webtoon graphic novels.

Set for print and digital publication under the Ablaze Manga imprint, the new releases include Wakfu, a new manga series based on the popular Netflix Anime series.

Next up comes Terror Man, a new manhwa series based on the hit Korean webtoon. It offers a complex, compelling story of an unlikely hero who is misunderstood and unappreciated for the good he does.

Readers also will not want to miss the launch of the manga series, Centaurs. Created by Ryo Sumiyoshi, Centaurs delivers a story of adventure and freedom inspired by Japanese mythology and features impressive art and character designs by Sumiyoshi, who also created creatures for the bestselling Monster Hunter game series.

Wakfu Vol.

"Rule number one: you're going to do what I tell you." Netflix has revealed an official trailer for a Turkish romantic comedy called Private Lesson, arriving for streaming on Netflix starting this December. Netflix has been releasing more & more localized content to live up to agreements they've made with each country to produce a lot more content there in exchange for providing tons of films for viewers. What is this romcom all about? Posing as a private tutor, Azra secretly coaches students on achieving their goals in life and love — but not without a few bumps in the road. The cast of the film includes Bensu Soral as Azra, Halit Özgür Sarı, Helin Kandemir, Rami Narin, Hatice Aslan, Hülya Gülşen Irmak, Murat Karasu, Elif Ceren Balıkçı, Deniz Altan, and Esengül Yılmaz. This seems like a quirky Turkish reinvention of the Cyrano de Bergerac story, with a woman falling for...

In a bid to adapt to the ever-changing content market, Thessaloniki International Film Festival’s industry component, Agora, is unveiling a slew of new initiatives as it gears up for its 63rd edition.

This year, it’s launching its newly-established Agora Series section, where it will dedicate an entire day (November 10) to shining a spotlight on the TV sector. Representatives from Greek broadcasters and international execs from places such as Netflix Italy, Sky Studios and Germany’s Nadcon Production, will touch down for the event, which will also feature networking events, discussion panels and a masterclass from Big Mouth and Glow scriptwriter and producer Victor Quinaz.

“We wanted to introduce this to the Agora line-up to reflect what is happening right now in Greece and how we’re working with TV series,” says Angeliki Vergou, head of Agora. “There has been a boom of production in Greece right now from abroad and that,...

Everyone loves a Cinderella story and one that has a ghastly family, a spunky heroine, and one Prince Charming who can be a bit of a dope some of the time! The film, which introduced the lovely Sadhana to the screen, is one of the most fun and charming romances of the 60s. Love in Simla was one of the biggest hits of 1960 and deservedly so, the sparkling repartee and gorgeous cinematography makes it a gem to enjoy even now.

Unlike most Cinderellas who are the docile type, Sadhana plays the plucky and feisty heroine Sonia. She’s the unlucky orphan living with her genial uncle (Kishore Sahu), his tart-tongued wife (Shobhana Samarth), and their beautiful but vain daughter Sheela (Azra). They live in luxury in their Simla mansion, while relying on Sonia as their servant and as a burden. Simla was once the summer playground during the colonial period,...