The Queen of My Dreams

The queer student Azra loves cinema, especially Bollywood and Sharmila Tagore. Once, this shared passion connected her with her conservative, religious mother Mariam, but now, they seem worlds apart. When her father dies during a visit to Pakistan, Azra and her brother travel to Karachi for the funeral, and Azra is forced to confront a culture that feels both foreign and a part of herself.

It becomes a Bollywood-inspired journey through real and imagined memories, taking us to her mother's youth in late 1960s Karachi and Azra's coming of age (and coming out) in rural Canada. With humor, charm, and vivid colors, *THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS* explores the complex connections between past and present, mothers and daughters, and East and West.

Presented with the kind support of the Canadian Embassy in Vienna.