It’s sometimes hard to remember that your parents had lives before you were born. Shocking, yes — especially when the relationship is fraught with cultural and generational differences. In Fawzia Mirza’s “The Queen of My Dreams,” no one knows this reality better than Toronto-based grad student Azra (Amrit Kaur), whose strained relationship with her religious mother, Mariam (Nimra Bucha), comes to a front when her father (Hamza Haq) dies while on a trip back to Pakistan. The film shines a light on both of the women’s grief, as well as the days of Mariam’s youth (who is also played by Kaur) and Azra’s own childhood in rural Canada.
The feature, which started off as a short film directed by Mirza, made its United States premiere at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival. Mirza and Amrit gave Character Media an in-depth look into the project.
Character Media: “The Queen of My Dreams” has gone through multiple iterations throughout the years, originating as a short film, then becoming a play and now a feature-length movie. What were some of the most significant changes, and what core message did you want to convey through each adaptation?
Fawzia Mirza: That’s a hefty question. The short, the one-person show and now the full-length feature [are all] threaded with themes of self-love and understanding how we become who we are. And I think [there’s] a lot of compassion — compassion for self and also for those who came before us. In terms of how true the feature is, I think it’s all rooted in my POV, [but] it’s a fantasy. I’m inspired by fantasy, romance and what could be. I want to manifest a future that’s better for all of us than what we have going on right now.
CM: The film uses some stories…
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