The Queen of My Dreams is a 2023 Pakistani Canadian comedy-drama film, written and directed by Fawzia Mirza in her feature directorial debut. The film is based on Mirza's theatrical stage play Me, My Mom & Sharmila, which in turn was based on her 2012 short film The Queen of My Dreams. The film stars Amrit Kaur as Azra, a Pakistani Canadian woman who has had a strained relationship with her parents since coming out as lesbian, who undergoes an emotional journey after the sudden unexpected death of her father Hassan (Hamza Haq).
The film had its world premiere in the Discovery program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. The film later received five Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024, winning for Best Lead Performance and Best Original Song.
Contents
Cast
Lead cast
Amrit Kaur as Azra Malik
Ayana Manji as Young Azra
Hamza Haq as Hassan Malik
Nimra Bucha as Mariam Malik
Amrit Kaur as Young Mariam
Supporting cast
Charlie Boyle as Sharon
Kirstin Howell as Sturdy Woman
Josh MacDonald as Mr. Sharp
Ali Kazmi as Zahid Malik
Lindsay Watters as Sturdy Woman
Sheema Kermani as Dance Instructor
Meher Jaffri as Sadia
Uzma Beg as Hassan's mother
Azra Mohyeddin as Worst Auntie
Zarqa Naz as Proper Auntie
Sameena Nazir as Motherly Auntie
Kya Mosey as Rachel
Shamim Hilaly as Woman on Plane
Emerson MacNeil as Alicia
Thea Burton as Sturdy Woman
Hasan Arif as Rishta
Anwaar as Rishta
Adnan Jaffar as Irfan Kadri
Saad Zameer as Bootlegger
Vicky Yi-Yin Zhuang as Jenny
Trina Corkum as Mrs. Shah
Carl Gosine as Dr. Shah
Siya Ajay as Jaya Shah
Meesum Naqvi as Gatekeeper
Production
The film was shot in 2022, under the working title Me, My Mom & Sharmila.
It was adapted from Mirza's theatrical stage play of the same name, which was itself drawn from her 2012 short film The Queen of My Dreams.
Distribution
The film was screened at the Cannes Film Market in May 2023, and had its public premiere in the Discovery program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.
In May 2025, Willa and Product of Culture acquired US distribution rights to the film, and set it for a June 20, 2025, release.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 12 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.8/10. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
The film was named to TIFF's annual Canada's Top Ten list for 2023.
Awards
The film was shortlisted for the 2023 Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award.
The film received five Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 12th Canadian Screen Awards in 2024, for Best Lead Performance in a Drama Film (Kaur), Best Adapted Screenplay (Mirza), Best Art Direction/Production Design (Michael Pierson), Best Original Score (Alysha Brilla) and Best Original Song (Qurram Hussain for "Ishq Ki Na Koi Bhi Hud Hai"), winning for Best Lead Performance and Best Original Song.
Mirza was co-winner, with Karen Knox for We Forgot to Break Up, of the DGC Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film.