Storyville: Land of Dreams by Ambarien Alqadar

Land of Dreams by Ambarien Alqadar 

(USA, 2025, 40 min)

Virender Rana, once a migrant worker from India, chases his dream of becoming a filmmaker while working as a taxi driver in America. Shot over a decade, an intimate portrait of an immigrant following his dreams.

Ambarien Alqadar began her filmmaking journey as an assistant to director Sabiha Sumar on sets of Silent Waters. Shaped by the experience of growing up in Jamia Nagar- a neighborhood on the margins of New Delhi, famous for its crushing lack of resources, police atrocities and delicious biryani, Ambarien works with a culturally specific lens. Ambarien lives between New Delhi and Chicago where she teaches Film Directing at The School of Cinematic Arts, DePaul University.