From Reel Alternatives
Reel Alternatives’ second-to-last film of the season is The Queen of My Dreams, the intertwining stories of a Pakistani mother and her Canadian-born daughter, awash with “the colour palette of a shelf full of saris.” Screening on Monday, June 3rd, at the Algonquin Theatre, The Queen of My Dreams is generously sponsored by Fox in the Henhouse food truck located on John Street.
In this TIFF and SXSW Film Festival selection, Azra is a Canadian-born Pakistani woman living in Toronto whose openly gay relationship and pursuit of an acting career is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim parents. 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 journey to adulthood in rural Canada.
Writer/Director Fawzia Mirza’s energetic first feature showcases Amrit Kaur’s great dual performance as both the daughter and the younger mother. As the older mother, veteran actor Nimra Bucha, whom audiences may recognize from Ms. Marvel, evokes hints of the woman she used to be within the person she’s become. Cinematographer Matt Irwin (CBC’s Sort Of) gives the 1969 sequences the vivid primary colours and lighting of the era’s Bollywood movies while keeping the 1999 material more subdued and naturalistic. The daughter, Azra, might feel lost, but this movie knows exactly where it’s going.
Tickets are available online at reelalternativeshuntsville.ca or algonquintheatre.ca, at the door, or by calling the Algonquin Theatre box office at 705-789-4975.
Now in its 24th season of bringing fine Canadian and international films to Huntsville, Reel Alternatives Huntsville is a non-profit group working in partnership with the Algonquin Theatre to enrich the cultural experience of the community. Reel Alternatives Huntsville gratefully acknowledges their partnership with Film Circuit, presented by TIFF, and its sponsors and supporters.
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