Interview:
Fawzia Mirza,
writer/director,
"The Queen of My Dreams"
Inspired in part by her relationship with her mother, as well as their mutual love of Bollywood musicals, writer/director Fawzia Mirza's dramedy The Queen of My Dreams finds 22-year-old Azra traveling from Canada to Pakistan for her father's funeral in his hometown of Karachi. The unexpected death of Azra's father Hassan forces her to examine her estranged relationship with her mother Mariam, who has yet to accept her as queer. Being in Pakistan also requires Azra to confront what it means to be a Muslim woman in a country rife with gender inequality. The Queen of My Dreams not only takes its title from the song “Mere Sapno Ki Rani” that’s featured in the 1969 Hindi musical romance Aradhana but also pays tribute to actress Sharmila Tagore's 1969 Bollywood classic through several song-and-dance fantasy sequences. The Queen of My Dreams screens during the SXSW Film & TV Festival at 6 p.m. March 14 at the Alamo South Lamar. Fawzia Mirza makes her feature directorial debut with The Queen of My Dreams. She previously co-wrote and starred in Signature Move. Aired: March 13, 2024. Web sites: https://schedule.sxsw.com/ https://www.fawziamirza.com/ |
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