Continuing my TIFF reaction series, I am now taking a look at one of my favourite Canadian titles from TIFF 2023’s lineup. QUEEN OF MY DREAMS had a really strong reaction from critics and audiences at the festival this year and should be coming out in early 2024.
ABOUT: In 1999, the sudden death of her father Hassan (Hamza Haq) sends queer Muslim grad student Azra (Amrit Kaur) flying back to her ancestral home in Pakistan, where her stern mother Mariam (Nimra Bucha) demands she play the role of the perfect grieving daughter. But through flashbacks to Mariam’s own life in Karachi 30 years before, we see the connections uniting mother and daughter, starting with their shared love of the Bollywood star Sharmila Tagore.
QUEEN OF MY DREAMS is a delightful, colourful, entertaining little Canadian Indie that became more and more sweet and loving as it progresses, as it follows a young lesbian woman and the connection to her mom, who is also shown in 1969 growing up. That’s my simple explanation of a movie that I loved the vibrant look and feel of the picture that is deeply steeped in Indian culture and I can really tell comes from a passionate filmmaking team. I always love following Indian cinema and tend to see a lot of new Indian releases when they open in my city, and this is one that I feel could gladly join the list. I can see a small but dedicated Canadian indie release for this one and hope it finds the audience that it deserves.
