Podtalk: Actor Fawzia Mirza on Premiere of ‘Signature Move’

CHICAGO – Made-in-Chicago filmmaking gets the big spotlight at the Music Box Theatre on Friday, September 29th, 2017, as “Signature Move” premieres with a Red Carpet event. Walking that carpet will be the female lead, Fawzia Mirza, who portrays a closeted gay Pakistani woman negotiating love and wrestling moves.

Shot entirely in Chicago, “Signature Move” is the first production of New City Films, an off-shoot of the longtime Windy City entertainment magazine, through their “Chicago Film Project” (in collaboration with Full Spectrum Pictures). The film was written by Mirza and Lisa Donato, and directed by Jennifer Reeder. This romantic comedy features women wrestlers and lovers, a play on the common theme of the “signature move.” Mizra portrays Zaynab, an immigration lawyer whose mother (Shabana Azmi) is pressuring her to marry. But it’s not a man that Zaynab desires, it’s a Mexican chica named Alma (Sari Sanchez). And what is the Mexican angle without the wrestling matches? The film is funny, warm and showcases a passionate gay coupling.

Fawzia Mizra (right) with Sari Sanchez in ‘Signature Move’
Photo credit: Chicago Film Project/Full Spectrum Pictures

This is the fourth time HollywoodChicago.com has talked to Fawzia Mirza, first meeting her in 2013 at the “City and State” short film presentation at the Chicago International Film Festival. Since then, she has built her career on stage, screen and through her continued activism in immigrant and women’s issues.

In the following podcast interview, Fawzia talks about the “signature moves” in putting the film together, and a role that is symbolically not too far off from her real life.

[20]	By PATRICK McDONALD [21] Writer, Editorial Coordinator HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com [20]