The Queen of My Dreams

Director Fawzia Mirza
Year 2023
Run Time 97min
Genre Comedy, Drama, Romance
Azra (Kaur), a young Queer Pakistani-Canadian woman, has long felt disconnected from her mother, Mariam (Bucha). Reuniting in Pakistan for her father’s funeral in 1999, flashbacks to 30 years earlier show a young Mariam (played in a dual role by Kaur) falling in love with Azra’s father, Hassan (Haq). Jumping back and forth between these two coming-of-age stories, the connections between mother and daughter become more and more clear – but will they realise this in time to save their relationship?

Sumptuously capturing the feel of a Bollywood film while telling a relatable cross-continental story, Fawzia Mirza’s impressive debut feature is an instant classic.


“Mirza has created a film bursting with creative energy and distinctive aesthetic sensibilities.” – Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter

Director

Fawzia Mirza

Writer

Fawzia Mirza

Cast

Amrit Kaur

Producers

Marc Tetreault, Jason Levangie, Andria Wilson

Genres

Comedy, Drama, Romance

Interests

Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker, LGBTQ2S+, Newcomer Stories, Strong Female Leads

Original Languages

English, Other Language

Baba (Drama)

Director Jay Kamal
Year 2021
Run Time 14min
Genre Drama
Twelve-year-old Samir struggles to come to terms with his father’s death while participating in the funeral ceremonies that reflect both his family’s Muslim and Christian beliefs.

Director

Jay Kamal

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Global Experiences

Original Languages

English, Other Language

No Crying at the Dinner Table

Director Carol Nguyen
Year 2019
Run Time 16min
Genre Documentary
Director Carol Nguyen reflects on a family tragedy through a series of interviews, exposing how trauma and grief can remain in the shadows for too long.
 

Director

Carol Nguyen

Producers

Carol Nguyen, Aziz Zoromba

Genre

Documentary

Interests

Biography, Family Relationships, Female Filmmaker

Original Languages

English, Other Language

So Much Tenderness

Director Lina Rodríguez
Year 2022
Run Time 118min
Genre Drama
Aurora (Noëlle Schönwald) is an environmental lawyer who flees to Canada from her home in Columbia after the death of her husband. With the help of a Canadian couple, she makes her way to Toronto, but her attempts to start a new life are challenging, and she comes to realize that the past is not so easily left behind.

Director

Lina Rodríguez

Writer

Lina Rodríguez

Cast

Noëlle Schönwald, Deragh Campbell, Natalia Aranguren

Producer

Brad Deane

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Global Experiences

Original Languages

English, Other Language

In Her Place

Director Albert Shin
Year 2014
Run Time 115min
Genre Drama
In this compelling drama from writer-director Albert Shin, a wealthy woman from Seoul seeks to secretly adopt the unborn child of a troubled teenager from a desolate farm in the South Korean countryside. As the teenager’s pregnancy progresses, their business transaction becomes something that is far more complicated than they first expected.

Set against the misty South Korean countryside, the film treats its three subjects with equal affection, and Shin delivers an honest, powerful drama that packs an enormous emotional punch.

Director

Albert Shin

Writers

Pearl Ball-Harding, Albert Shin

Cast

Ji-hye Ahn, Hae-yeon Kil, Kyung-Ik Kim, Da-Kyung Yoon

Producers

Igor Drljaca, Albert Shin, Hyun Chan Yoon

Genre

Drama

Interests

Asian Filmmaker, BIPOC Stories, Global Experiences

Original Language

Other Language

SG̲aawaay Ḵ’uuna (Edge of the Knife)

Directors Gwaai Edenshaw (Haida), Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot'in)
Year 2018
Run Time 100min
Genre Action/Adventure, Drama

Set in the Haida Gwaii region in the 19th century, Edge of the Knife (SG̲aawaay Ḵ'uuna in Haida) adapts a classic Haida folk tale of a man left for dead in the forest who becomes the Gaagiid/Gaagiixiid, or “the Wildman”. After an accident where he is separated from his family, Adiits'ii (York) wanders through the forest becoming driven mad by both natural and supernatural forces. As his loved ones, including best friend Kwa (Russ), set out to capture and cure him, Adiits’ii grows increasingly feral.

The first feature film made entirely in the critically endangered Haida language - fluently spoken by fewer than 20 people - the film is a spellbinding and mythical tale of pride, tragedy and love, set against the stunning backdrop of Canada’s Pacific northwest.

Made with a Haida cast and in collaboration with the Haida Council, this compelling film proves that cinema can be at once a powerful vessel for storytelling and a profound act of Indigenous language and culture revitalization.

Directors

Gwaai Edenshaw (Haida), Helen Haig-Brown (Tsilhqot'in)

Writers

Gwaai Edenshaw (Haida), Jaalen Edenshaw (Haida), Graham Richard, Leonie Sandercock

Cast

Curtis Brown, Diane Brown, Greg Brown, Tyler York (Haida), Sphenia Jones (Haida)

Producer

Jonathan Frantz

Genres

Action/Adventure, Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Language

Other Language

Roméo onze (Romeo Eleven)

Director Ivan Grbovic
Year 2011
Run Time 91min
Genre Drama
Rami (Ali Ammar) is a shy, physically disabled young man — but on the Internet, he poses as a successful businessman. That is, until the girl he’s been messaging wants to meet him….

Director

Ivan Grbovic

Writer

Sara Mishara

Cast

Joseph Bou Nassar, Eleonore Millier, Ali Ammar, Sanda Bourenane

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Social Justice & Politics

Original Languages

French, Other Language

We Were Children

Director Tim Wolochatiuk
Year 2012
Run Time 88min
Genre Documentary, Drama

Harrowing stories of survivors of the Canadian Indian residential school system are woven together in this profoundly moving film about the resilience of the human spirit in the face of institutionalised racism, abuse and injustice on a national scale.

Director

Tim Wolochatiuk

Writer

Jason Sherman

Producers

Kyle Irving, David Christensen

Genres

Documentary, Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, History, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Languages

English, French, Other Language

The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw

Director Shelley Niro (Kanien'kehaka)
Year 2019
Run Time 96min
Genre Comedy
When Mitzi Bearclaw (Angeline) turns 25, it’s time to start making big decisions for the future. Her dream to design cool hats is put on hold when she chooses to move from the city back to her isolated reserve to look after her sick mother.

With the reserve bully (Supernault) constantly at her heels and an old flame (Kapashesit) suddenly back in her life, she is grateful that her cousin (Martin) is there to help her in the fight to stay positive under trying circumstances. With a lot of laughs along the way, Mitzi embarks on a quest to get her family back on the right track!

Director

Shelley Niro (Kanien'kehaka)

Writer

Shelley Niro (Kanien'kehaka)

Cast

MorningStar Angeline (Navajo/Shoshone/Chippewa Cree/Blackfoot), Gary Farmer (Cayuga), Roseanne Supernault (Cree/Métis), Gail Maurice (Cree/Métis), Ajuawak Kapashesit (Ojibway/Cree)

Producers

Amos Adetuyi, Floyd Kane, Shelley Niro (Kanien'kehaka)

Genre

Comedy

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker

Original Languages

English, Other Language

Bootlegger

Director Caroline Monnet (Algonquin)
Year 2021
Run Time 81min
Genre Drama

Driven by a desire to spark change in her community, young activist Mani (Jacobs) returns to her reserve from the big city to promote the ending of alcohol prohibition on her reserve. When she runs into opposition from the local convenience store owner Nadine (Poupart), the two square off, forcing the divisive issue into the spotlight leading to unexpected consequences.  

This critically acclaimed first feature from Caroline Monnet is a thought-provoking and timely look at an ongoing debate that rarely gets the media attention it deserves. 

 

Director

Caroline Monnet (Algonquin)

Writers

Caroline Monnet (Algonquin), Daniel Watchorn

Cast

Pascale Bussières, Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs (Mohawk), Joséphine Bacon (Innu), Joshua Odjick (Algonquin/Anishinaabe), Samian (Algonquin)

Producer

Catherine Chagnon

Genre

Drama

Interests

BIPOC Stories, Female Filmmaker, Indigenous Filmmaker, Social Justice & Politics

Original Languages

French, Other Language