It’s that time of year again: South By Southwest Film and TV Festival is back, turning downtown Austin into a hotspot for film buffs, music lovers and tech fanatics. In recent years, SXSW has hosted the premieres of several beloved Asian projects, including “Joy Ride,” “BEEF” and “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” to name a few. This year has been no different, with the highly-anticipated “3 Body Problem,” “Monkey Man” and “Y2K” all seeing their world premieres in Austin. CM was on-location covering the festival’s first weekend; here are some of our favorites.
The Queen of My Dreams
This feature film, directed by Fawzia Mirza, is a vibrant coming-of-age story that focuses on Toronto-based grad student Azra (Amrit Kaur) and the strained relationship she has with her religious mother Mariam (Nimra Bucha). It’s only when she receives news that her father Hassan (Hamza Haq) has suffered a fatal heart attack while on a trip back to Karachi, Pakistan, that she and her mother must confront their rocky relationship. The film shines a light on both women’s lives, cleverly bouncing from current-day 1999 to the days of Mariam’s youth (who Kaur plays in a shining double role) in 1960s Karachi and to Azra’s own childhood in rural Canada, providing depth to the mother-daughter relationship. Despite this, the film never feels preachy; the vibrant color palette, fitting soundtrack and Mirza’s direction make it an entertaining watch for viewers. “The Queen of My Dreams” is a heartwarming film that pays homage to beloved Bollywood films like “Aradhana” to tell an intimate story, asking viewers to look deeper at their parents’ history and make a path to more understanding.
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