Quickening (film)

Quickening
Directed byHaya Waseem
Written byHaya Waseem
Produced byYona Strauss
StarringArooj Azeem
Bushra Azeem
Ashir Azeem
Quinn Underwood
CinematographyChristopher Lew
Edited byBrendan Mills
Music bySpencer Creaghan
Production
company
Quickening Film
Distributed bylevelFilm
Release date
  • September 12, 2021 (2021-09-12) (TIFF)
Running time
88 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish
Urdu

Quickening is a 2021 Canadian drama film, written and directed by Haya Waseem.[1]

Waseem's debut full-length feature, the film stars Arooj Azeem as Sheila, a young Pakistani Canadian woman navigating her freedom from the social expectations of her immigrant family after starting university.[2] When Sheila losses her virginity, then her boyfriend breaks up with her, followed by her father losing his job, the collective pressure causes her to suffer the physical and hormonal imbalances of a false pregnancy.

Arooj Azeem's parents, mother Bushra Azeem and father Ashir Azeem, play her character's parents in the film, while Quinn Underwood plays the boyfriend, Eden.[3]

The film premiered in the Discovery program at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF),[4] with Arooj Azeem being named among TIFF's Share Her Journey Rising Stars Fellows for emerging actors.[5]

  1. ^ Hertz, Barry (28 July 2021). "TIFF 2021: Films starring Kirsten Dunst, Steven Yeun and Sigourney Weaver heading to festival". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  2. ^ Ahearn, Victoria (6 September 2021). "From 'Night Raiders' to 'Scarborough': Five Canadian films making waves at TIFF". Toronto Star. The Canadian Press. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  3. ^ Mobarak, Jared (14 September 2021). "TIFF Review: Quickening Follows a Pakistani Canadian Teenager's Search for Autonomy". The Film Stage. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  4. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (28 July 2021). "Toronto Film Festival Unveils Contemporary World Cinema and Discovery Lineup". Variety. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  5. ^ "Toronto Film Fest Unveils Plans For Talent Development, Media Inclusion". Shoot Online (Press release). Toronto International Film Festival. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 27 October 2022.