#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.

#CDNSCREENAWARDS: “TRANSPLANT”, “SCARBOROUGH” and “BLACK FUTURES” AMONG BIG WINNERS AT 2022 CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS

The 2022 Canadian Screen Award Broadcast Gala, now in its tenth year, was held tonight virtually, airing on CBC and CBC Gem, concluding Canadian Screen Week celebrations. Taking home top honours in the Television categories was CTV‘s TRANSPLANT including wins for Best Drama Series; Best Lead Actor, Drama Series for Hamza Haq; and Best Lead Actress, Drama Series for Laurence Leboeuf. 

Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson’s Scarborough – based on Catherine Hernandez‘s Novel – led the Film categories, winning a total of eight Canadian Screen Awards including: Best Motion Picture, presented by CBC; Achievement in Direction; and the John Dunning Best First Feature Film Award, which comes with a $25,000 cash prize, courtesy of the John Dunning Foundation. 

In the Digital categories, Obsidian Theatre’s 21 Black Futures took home four wins, including: Best Web Program or Series, Fiction, presented with the participation of the Independent Production Fund; and Best Lead Performance, Web Program or Series for Lovell Adams-Gray. 

Wynonna Earp based on fan votes, took the Cogeco Fund Audience Choice Award, the first time the Award was given in the Television category this year. Treehouse TV’s Miss Persona won the Shaw Rocket Fund Kids’ Choice Award.

Also, eight special awards tonight were given to those who have made significant contributions to the industry. Honourees included Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Bob Cole; Gordon Sinclair Award for Broadcast Journalism recipient Rassi Nashalik; Radius Award (presented by MADE | NOUS) recipient Maitreyi Ramakrishnan; and the inaugural recipients of the Changemaker Award: Kayla Grey, Kathleen Newman-Bremang and Amanda Parris.

Complete list of winners here.

(Photo credit: levelFILM)