In the romantic drama Maya & Samar (now playing in select Canadian theatres), performers Nicolette Pearse and Amanda Babaei Vieira play two women from vastly different worlds. Pearse takes on the role of Maya, a journalist for a trendy website who travels to Greece, initially hoping to take a vacation and catch up with an old friend. But it isn’t long before the free spirited and hard working Maya gets pulled into covering another story. Keen to do a piece about sex workers, Maya meets Samar (played by Vieira) while dancing in a nightclub. There’s an immediate connection between the two women, but Samar is in a difficult position, socially, legally, and religiously. As a queer woman stranded in Greece after fleeing from Afghanistan, Samar has to keep a low profile, something that could be endangered if Maya goes ahead with her story.
Last week, we had a chance to talk with the stars of Maya & Samar about finding their characters, the politics of migration through Europe, shooting in Greece with an experienced local crew on a tight schedule, and how the world has changed so much between when they started shooting and the film’s release.
Maya & Samar is now playing in select theatres.
