A fghanistan-born B.C. director Tarique Qayumi (pictured) has begun production on his third feature-length film, Mâdar.

Qayumi co-wrote the film with Munich-born filmmaker Tajana Prka, who is also a producer alongside Qayumi under their shared Vancouver-based production banner Aquatinter Films, and stars in the film. Mâdar is also produced by Lily Pictures’ Michelle Morris and Principia Productions’ Lael McCall, who have previously collaborated on Marie Clements’ feature Red Snow.

Leo Solomon and Zohra Hangama, who star in the film alongside Prka, serve as executive producers.

Principal photography on the film is currently underway in and around Vancouver until Dec. 18, with delivery scheduled for mid-May of 2023, according to McCall. A distributor is not attached as of press time.

Mâdar follows a talented midwife who is facing infertility issues and undergoes IVF treatment due to societal pressures and the demands of her mother-in-law. It received financial support from Telefilm Canada and Creative BC.

Qayumi said in a statement that the film is a “very personal drama for Tajana and me. The story is thematically concerned with women’s lives, ‘motherhood’ taboos that are often pathologized, the pressures of societal and familial relations, and the epic workings of desire, grief, and loneliness.”

Prka added that “Tarique and I wanted to tell this story because there is a desire to be less shameful – and silent – about the real challenges facing many women (and men) in dramatic stories about pregnancy.”

Qayumi is an Afghanistan-born filmmaker, who started out his career at TOLO TV, the largest television station in Afghanistan, according to a news release. His credits include the docuseries Truth Unveiled; the drama miniseries The Defenders; and the feature-length films Targeting and Black Kite, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017. It won three Leo Awards for Best Writer, Best Direction and Best Picture.

Photo by Luka Cyprian