X-Files creator Chris Carter's time-travel horror premieres at Edmonton film fest
Queens for a Day, directed by Carter and written by his wife Dori, makes its world premiere Sept. 25 at the Edmonton International Film Festival.
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X-Files creator Chris Carter's new film Queens for a Day will make its world premiere at the Edmonton International Film Festival on Sept. 25 at 6:30 p.m., on Day 2 of the festival, which runs Sept. 24 to Oct. 3.
The situational horror film was written by Carter's wife, Dori Carter, and produced by Edmonton-born Grace Gilroy, a founding member of the Directors Guild of Alberta. Filmed in Vancouver in February, it plays Calgary International Film Festival at 3 p.m. on Sept. 27 before wider release.
The premise places a low-empathy, modern cable commentator enamored with the "good old days" into the body of his pregnant mother in the 1950s. The film draws on tropes familiar from Freaky Friday, Sliders, and It's a Wonderful Life, set against a richly detailed mid-century world of wood-panel waiting rooms, period hairstyles, and costumes — but also the real nightmare of suppressed opportunity and compromised agency women faced.
Dori Carter wrote the original script over 30 years ago, before The X-Files. Chris Carter discovered it in his garage about a year ago and asked if she would consider rewriting it. "She didn't know who Janine Pirro is, but if you made someone like her the central character, I think you've got an interesting story," Carter said. The rewrite followed.
In a phone interview from his Santa Barbara home, where he and Dori are preparing for the festival trips, Carter reflected on making the film. "My parents never drew Social Security, so they never really got to see my success," he said. "So anything I do makes me think of them. And for both my wife and I, this was a trip back for us, and it's very personal to her."
The film examines how a character from the present day would clash against outdated norms and ubiquitous misogyny when thrust backward in time. Carter and his wife frame the dark comedy as a thought-provoking look at what the past actually was — not a sanitized nostalgia — and what it means to confront it.
The details
When and where does Queens for a Day premiere?
Queens for a Day premieres at the Edmonton International Film Festival on September 25, 2026 at 6:30 p.m.
Who wrote and directed the film?
Chris Carter directed Queens for a Day, and his wife Dori Carter wrote the script.
What is the film's plot?
Queens for a Day follows a modern cable commentator with low empathy who is transported into the body of his pregnant mother in the 1950s, forcing him to confront the constraints and misogyny women faced in that era.
When does the film play at Calgary International Film Festival?
Queens for a Day screens at Calgary International Film Festival on September 27, 2026 at 3 p.m.
