ISLAMABAD 25 Aug (Online): Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Fawzia Mirza is ready to do a feature film and has handpicked “brilliant South Asian trailblazers” to lead the cast.
‘Me Mom & Sharmila’s shining trio includes Ms Marvel’s, Nimra Bucha, The Sex Lives of College Girls’ Amrit Kaur and Transplant’s Hamza Haq.
On Thursday, she shared the news by reposting Variety’s piece on her film on Instagram and talked about her upcoming project. “My feature directorial debut, starring Amrit Kaur, Hamza Haq and Nimra Bucha, is inspired from my one-person play of the same name ‘Me, My Mom & Sharmila.
I cannot begin to tell you how thrilled I am for this cast and how proud I am of my incredible producing team without whom I would not be here.” She thanked the producers and writers, personally mentioning whoever she could, saying “it takes a village”.
Bucha re-shared Fawzia’s Instagram story with the same screenshot of the Variety feature and added, “So happy!”
Kaur reposted it too captioned, “I am thrilled to be telling this beautiful and important story alongside these brilliant South-Asian trailblazers.”
She thanked the director and her acknowledged her costars and the journey they are to embark on together. “Fawzia Mirza, thank you for trusting me; I intend to give your story my absolute heart and soul. Nimra Bucha, I cannot wait to meet and learn from you. And dearest Hamza Haq, you are the biggest gift. From first scene partner in acting class to this. Let’s make art!”
Extracting some key words, “Brown. Queer. Art,” the Little Italy actor also wrote a special thank you for retired Indian actor Sharmila Tagore. “Thank you for leading the way for all the little brown girls who proudly saw you share your sensuality on the big screen.”
Haq decided to mark the new beginning with an Instagram post as well. “Look at these beautiful brown people. Proud to be among them. Let’s go team. YO Amrit we’re making a movie together! Bismillah,” he captioned it.
According to Variety the film, set in 1999, follows Azra (Kaur) over 48 hours as she travels from her home in Canada to her parents’ homeland of Pakistan to bury her father (Haq). Azra struggles to connect with her conservative mother Mariam (Bucha), but her return to Pakistan launches her into memories both real and imagined that reveal their unexpected similarities.
“Me, My Mom & Sharmila” is produced by Jason Levangie and Marc Tetreault for Shut Up & Colour Pictures and Andria Wilson Mirza for Baby Daal Productions (co-founded by Fawzia with her wife). The production will commence in Nova Scotia, Canada and Pakistan in late 2022.
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