Private Project

Perchance to Dream

Logline:
Haunted by nightmares of a plane crash he helped orchestrate, a regime officer manipulates a purgatorial dreamscape to cast himself as a hero—until a mysterious passenger threatens to expose his illusions.

Synopsis:
Caesar (Rick Amsbury), an officer for a dictatorial regime, is mandated to see a psychiatrist due to relentless nightmares. In these dreams, he’s trapped in a purgatorial landscape among unfamiliar faces. As the nightmares intensify, he confesses to his therapist that he’s among the passengers of a plane downed by his own government—an act in which he was complicit. In the dream, unlike the others, he alone retains his memory, a power he uses to recast himself as a hero and savior to the lost souls, even being worshiped as a prophet. His control seems secure—until he encounters Delilah, who begins to unravel his illusions.

  • Amir Ganjavie
    Director
  • Mehdi Shirzad
    Writer
  • Arash Azizi
    Writer
  • Amir Ganjavie
    Writer
  • Amir Ganjavie
    Producer
  • Rick Amsbury
    Key Cast
    "Caesar "
  • Richard Cole
    Key Cast
    "The deadman"
  • Beáta Imre
    Key Cast
    "Delilah"
  • Christopher Power
    Key Cast
    "Hannibal"
  • Daryl Marks
    Key Cast
    "Psychiatrist"
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 20 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 27, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    500,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Amir Ganjavie

Amir Ganjavie, a Golden Globe voter, is a multifaceted individual based in Toronto. He holds a Ph.D. in communication and culture and is on the verge of completing a second Ph.D. in philosophy at McMaster University. His first doctoral dissertation focused on utilizing Hegel's philosophy to understand and analyze contemporary utopian movies. Currently, he is pursuing a new doctorate in philosophy, specifically studying theories of democracy and the dangers of privatization. Fascinated by the issue of alternative and utopian spaces in modern urban settings and cinema, Amir has published several articles on utopia and authored two books—one on utopia and another on walkable neighborhoods (Pour une ville qui marche, in French). Recently, he co-edited two special volumes on Iranian cinema for Film International and Asian Cinema and edited Humanities of the Other: An essay collection on the Dardenne Brothers (in Persian). Apart from academia, Amir contributes to various publications, including MovieMaker, Film International, Mubi, Senses of Cinema, Offscreen, and Brightlight. He also serves as the chief editor of Universal Cinema Journal. Highly active in the community, Amir serves as the CEO of the Cyrus International Film Festival and the Phoenix Cultural Centre of Toronto. Additionally, he is one of the founding members of NaMaNa Cinema, a non-profit film club at the University of Toronto. His filmmaking journey began in 2018 with the co-direction of Pendulum. In 2021, he directed the COVID thriller film "Into Schrödinger's Box" in collaboration with Nasim Naghavi. He has recently finished a new feature film named "About Maya”

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Director Statement

In our world today, we continue to witness the tragic phenomenon of civilian airplanes being downed—often as a result of government action or military miscalculation. Two recent examples underscore the gravity and ongoing nature of this crisis:

- Iran’s downing of Ukrainian Airliner PS752 (January 2020): Iranian forces shot down a passenger plane shortly after takeoff from Tehran, resulting in the loss of 176 lives. Despite initial denials, the Iranian government eventually acknowledged responsibility.

- Azerbaijani plane struck by Russian air defense (December 2024): As reported on February 4, 2025, by Reuters in Baku, an Azerbaijani passenger aircraft that had been diverted from Russia to Kazakhstan was confirmed to have been hit by a Russian Pantsir-S air defense system. This tragic incident further highlights how governmental or military actions can devastate innocent civilian lives.

These ongoing tragedies compel me, as a filmmaker with dual Iranian-Canadian nationality, to explore the deeper questions behind such incidents. I was personally affected by the loss of friends during the Iranian flight tragedy, and this profound sense of grief and outrage informs my work. My motivation for creating “Perchance to Dream” stems from a desire to understand how power, politics, and truth collide in these moments, moving beyond simplistic narratives of friend versus foe to examine how individuals navigate—and sometimes resist—official efforts to manipulate or suppress the truth.

In “Perchance to Dream,” the supernatural allegory offers an otherworldly lens through which I invite viewers to question the reliability of state narratives and the fragility of memory. Inspired in part by George Orwell’s 1984, this film reflects my deep concern over how governments shape collective memory, often obscuring or rewriting history to suit particular agendas. From my perspective, remembering the victims and preserving the truth is both a moral and a political imperative.

By melding folkloric elements, whimsy, and satire, “Perchance to Dream” provides space for audiences to critically reflect on real-world power structures. I believe true maturity arises from the capacity to think independently, and it is my sincere hope that this film will prompt viewers to question the narratives they encounter and examine the ways in which truth is constructed—or denied.

Thank you for considering “Perchance to Dream” for your festival. It would be an honor to share this cinematic exploration with your discerning audience and contribute to the ongoing dialogue about truth, memory, and the responsibilities of power.

Sincerely,
Amir