Fawzia Mirza’s debut feature The Queen of My Dreams has won a double honour at the 27th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, including the RBC Best Canadian Feature Film award.

Reel Asian announced its 2023 award winners online on Saturday (Nov. 11), with The Queen of My Dreams also picking up the Armstrong Acting Studios Outstanding Performer in a Canadian Feature Film honour for star Amrit Kaur.

The Best Canadian Feature Film award comes with a $2,000 prize, while the winner of outstanding performer receives full tuition coverage of a class at Armstrong Acting Studios, valued at $2,250.

The Queen of My Dreams is written and directed by Mirza, and produced by Jason Levangie and Marc Tetreault of Shut Up & Colour Pictures, and Andria Wilson Mirza of Baby Daal Productions. Cineplex Pictures is the film’s Canadian distributor, and LevelK is handling international sales.

The features award jury this year included filmmakers Sherien Barsoum, Omar Majeed, and Priscilla Galvez.

The jury said in a statement: “Full of theatrical flair, bold design, and a hint of camp, The Queen of My Dreams marks the debut of a strong new voice, making Fawzia Mirza a filmmaker to keep a close eye on.”

Canada-based Iranian-American filmmaker Alireza Khatami and Tehran-based filmmaker Ali Asgari’s Terrestrial Verses, won the Osler Best Feature Film Award, which comes with a $2,000 cash prize, with the jury recognizing “the duo’s homage to classic Iranian cinema with performances so convincing one may mistake the film for a stylized documentary.”

Lebanese American director Jude Chehab’s Q won the Cinesend Best First Feature award. The award’s recipient also picks up a $500 cash prize and CineSend Files Team Annual Plan, which is valued at $4,500.

Brooklyn-based Law Chen’s Starring Jerry as Himself, meanwhile, picked up the Reel Asian Best Documentary award, and the accompanying $1,500 cash prize.

In the shorts category, Fanny Lord-Bourcier’s animated film Abby won the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) Best Emerging Canadian Short Film award. The award’s recipient is eligible for post-production services supported by the NFB valued at $5,000.

Nushi Sharma’s Apoy picked up the Armstrong Acting Studios Outstanding Performer in a Canadian Short Film for Sherrylyn Vivero. The winner in the shorts category also receives tuition coverage of a class at Armstrong Acting Studios, valued at $2,250.

Six Canadian shorts picked up the Air Canada Short Film or Video Award: Emma Zuck’s Adagio; Kalainithan Kalaichelvan’s Canada-India-Sri Lanka copro Junglefowl; Andrea Nirmala Widjajanto’s Canada-Indonesia copro Sawo Matang; Namaï Kham Po’s The Repair Shop (L’atelier); Nedda Sarshar’s Unibrow; and Warren Chan’s Pixel’s of the Orient.

The award comes with a $2,000 cash prize, and an opportunity to broadcast on Air Canada’s in-flight entertainment screens on domestic and international flights.

Photo courtesy of Reel Asian Film Festival