Writer-Director to Watch: Fawzia Mirza of “Noor & Layla” and “Signature Move”

Activist. Actor. Director. Producer. Playwright. Screenwriter. Fawzia Mirza is the quintessential multi-hyphenate, multi-disciplinary artist. An award-winning Pakistani-Canadian-American writer-director for film, television, and the stage, Mirza’s body of work spans about a decade, including documentary shorts “The Queen of My Dreams,” “Reclaiming Pakistan,” and “The Streets Are Ours.”

Named among Independent Magazine’s 10 Filmmakers to Watch and IndieWire’s Top 10 Creatives, Mirza also writes, directs, produces, and occasionally stars in a variety of narrative films. Mirza’s first feature film as a screenwriter, “Signature Move,” served as a starring vehicle for her in 2017. The film takes pages out of Mirza’s actual life story. A former litigator herself, Mirza plays Zaynab, a Chicago-based lawyer whose recently widowed mother comes to live with her. Comedy and drama ensue as Zaynab tries to hide her burgeoning relationship with another woman while also pursuing lucha-style wrestling.

“I love the coming out story,” Mirza told them. in 2020. “I know, people are like, ‘Oh, I’m so tired of watching that movie’ or ‘I’m so tired of reading that book about someone’s coming out.’ I want to see those stories because we don’t have enough of them.”

In addition to starring in the award-winning and Emmy-nominated series “Her Story,” Mirza has also headlined her own autobiographical one-woman stage production, “Me, My Mom & Sharmila.” She has not been shy about how the real-life complications with her mother, which arose when she came out, have informed her as a person and an artist. Her feature screenplay adaptation by the same title was accepted into the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival Writers Studio and Filmmaker Lab.

Mirza later wrote and directed an all-Canadian short, “Noor & Layla,” in association with CBC. The story centers around two women in the process of breaking up. A film featuring an interracial Muslim couple, even now, is fairly uncommon, as Daniel Reynolds at Advocate mentioned during a chat with Mirza in 2021. “My work centers voices of color, queer voices, Muslim voices, women’s voices,” Mirza replied. “To me, this interracial relationship is a normal reflection of the community around me.” She also wants to dispel the misguided notions that many minorities and marginalized community members often face when telling unique stories in an otherwise white-washed, cishet cinema landscape. “Queer Muslim love is beautiful,” she told Advocate. “Muslims are not a monolith; we come in all forms and we practice in myriad ways. We are multitudes.”

Indeed, Mirza seamlessly tells queer romance stories with diverse characters, as evidenced by one of her most recent narrative shorts, “Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night.” The title is a mouthful, but it serves as a comedic precursor to the larger-than-life world where three Pakistani-American (possibly -Canadian) sisters celebrate – you guessed it – Christmas Eve with silly, over-the-top, family games.

When the youngest sister, Noor, brings her nonbinary Puerto Rican partner, Luz, to meet everyone for the first time, a very awkward gauntlet is thrown by Noor’s oldest sister, Soraya, to see if Luz is really “The One.” Rounding out the sibling trio is middle sister Kiran who, naturally, just wants to keep the peace. In just one wayward evening, all four individuals are tested.

The concept originated with Mirza’s creative partner, writer and actor Kausar Mohammed. Mohammed based the script on an experience she had bringing her own significant other home to the family, only she imagined an expanded, zanier situational comedy. The result is a fun, relatable romp of a short film, where the audience is left wanting a bit more of these characters in other everyday situations. From beginning to end, the Syed family is fun to watch, and this short film could easily be the seed that inspires a feature or series.

“We want to center stories on queer Muslims of color,” Mirza told CBC, speaking of her collaborative efforts with Mohammed. “We want to work in this industry in a way that feels uplifting rather than degrading, inclusive rather than exclusive, and can ultimately be an actual reflection of the spectrum of our community.”

The pandemic and family health issues forced Mirza to reassess whether she could actually split her focus between duties at home and directing “Syed Family Xmas Eve Game Night” in January 2021. She even offered the producers an out: If they needed to find another director to move the project forward, she would understand.

Fortunately, Mohammed and their producing team were able to push back filming. They were adamant that there was no one else who could direct it, and that faith in Mirza has paid off with the film landing at the Toronto International Film Festival, BFI Flare, and OutFest.

“I’m reminded of the importance of loving the work you are making,” Mirza told CBC. “Make it for you, and for your values. Make it with love, and make it with people you love. Make art from a place of intense honesty and the best will come. Not everyone will understand you or your work… But that’s okay. As a queer Muslim, I’ve gotten used to that.”

“Signature Move” is available on VOD. “Noor & Layla” can now be streamed online. Learn more about Mirza’s recent and upcoming projects at fawziamirza.com.