#FIRSTLOOK: AMRIT KAUR TO BE HONOURED AT HOLLYWOOD REPORT WOMEN IN ENTERTAINMENT CANADA EVENT

The Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada today announced that Amrit Kaur (The Sex Lives of College Girls; The Queen of My Dreams) will receive the Breakthrough Award at this year’s second annual event on Thursday, May 29, 2025 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto, Ontario.

The Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada’s Breakthrough Award honours rising stars in entertainment and media who are making waves in a big way with bold, innovative storytelling and a distinct artistic vision.

Amrit Kaur

2025 Breakthrough Award Honouree

Amrit Kaur is an artistic hyphenate: actor, writer, comedian and activist whose performances and creative voice have captured the attention of audiences and critics alike.

Kaur is best known for her breakout role as Bela Malhotra on the Max original comedy series The Sex Lives of College Girls. An award-winning actor, Kaur received the ‘Best Actor in a Feature Film’ Award for her dual character work in The Queen of My Dreams at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards, and was recognized as a TIFF rising star in 2023. She is a member of Gracemoon Arts Company, an international ensemble of actors with a base in Italy, America, and Canada, having collectively opened an off-off Broadway theatre in New York July 2024.

The Breakthrough Award is presented in partnership with Bell Media.

The Hollywood Reporter Women in Entertainment Canada is a first-of-its-kind summit bringing the industry together across television, film, and music to celebrate and recognize the achievements of Canadian women who are driving the industry forward in their respective fields. As previously announced, acclaimed actress Tantoo Cardinal will receive the Equity in Entertainment Award and iconic fashion and lifestyle journalist Jeanne Beker will be honoured with the IMPACT Award at this year’s event. Additional award recipients and programming for Women in Entertainment Canada 2025 details will be announced later this spring.

Tickets are now available, with an early-bird rate available until Friday, April 25, 2025.

For more information visit www.womeninentertainment.ca.

#FIRSTLOOK: “QUEEN OF MY DREAMS” TO BE RELEASED IN CANADA BY CINEPLEX PICTURES

Canadian distributor Cineplex Pictures, has announced a partnership with Shut up & Colour Pictures to distribute The Queen of My Dreams – the debut film by Canadian writer and director Fawzia Mirza. The announcement was made today by Cineplex Pictures and marks the company’s first deal out of TIFF ’23.

The Queen of My Dreams stars Amrit Kaur (The Sex Lives of College Girls), Nimra Bucha (Ms. Marvel), and Hamza Haq (Transplant), and was produced by Jason Levangie, Andria Wilson Mirza and Marc Tetreault.

The film is a stylish drama that follows Azra (Kaur), who is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother Mariam (Bucha). When her father Hassan (Haq) 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 coming- of-age in rural Canada. The film focuses on the complicated and special relationship between a mother and daughter, and lead actress Amrit Kaur plays two different characters in the film – a classic Bollywood tradition that Mirza paid homage to.

“Fawzia Mirza is an incredibly talented and exciting filmmaker and a wonderful representation of the future of Canadian film,” said Brad LaDouceur, Vice President & General Manager, Cineplex Pictures. “The Queen of My Dreams is the type of storytelling that Cineplex Pictures is actively looking for and we can’t wait to bring it to audiences across the country.”

“We’re overjoyed to be working with Cineplex Pictures to bring Fawzia’s debut feature to theatres across Canada,” said producer Jason Levangie. “Their willingness to make this theatrically minded deal, and collaborate with us to market the release widely, makes them an ideal partner for The Queen of My Dreams.”

The deal was negotiated by Brad LaDouceur and Tim Smy of Cineplex Pictures and Jason Levangie and Marc Tetreault of Shut Up & Colour Pictures, on behalf of the film.

The Queen of My Dreams will be released theatrically in Canada via Cineplex Pictures in early 2024. LevelK launched international sales for the film out of TIFF, and the film will next be in competition at the BFI London Film Festival in October.

The project is a CRAVE Original in Canada with 2nd window broadcast rights pre-sold to CBC Films. The film was made in partnership with the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, and Spark Features in the US.

IN THEATRES ACROSS CANADA STARTING FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2024.