Section
Original title
Joyland
Synopsis
A family melodrama in Pakistan. While the Ranas, a very traditional patriarchal family from Lahore, are anxiously awaiting the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line, their youngest son, Haider, is beginning to dance secretly in a night club and falls in love with Biba, a transgender artist. Their impossible love story kindles the desire for sexual rebellion and freedom of the whole family.
Cast
Ali Junejo, Alina Khan, Rasti Farooq, Sarwat Gilani
Films Distribution
Leo Teste
Production
All caps, Khoosat Films
Editing
Saim Sadiq, Maggie Briggs
Cinematography
Joe Saade
Editing
Jasmin Tenucci, Saim Sadiq
Language
Urdu, Punjabi
Subtitles
English, Italian
Premiere
Italian premiere
Main awards
Jury Prize, Queer Palm (Un Certain Regards, Festival di Cannes 2022), Special Jury Prize (Bangkok World Film Festival 2022), Director to Watch Prize and FIPRESCI Award for Best Actor (Palm Springs International Film Festival 2023), Special Jury Award for Best Actor (São Paulo International Film Festival 2022), Audience Award (Valladolid International Film Festival 2022)
Biography
Saim Sadiq is a Pakistani director. In 2019 his short Nice talking to you was on the BAFTA shortlist as best graduation film and won the Kodak Student Scholarship Gold Award. In 2019 the short film Darling was the first Pakistani film presented at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Orizzonti prize for the best short film and it was also selected in Toronto. It won the jury’s special mention at South by Southwest in 2020. Joyland, his debut feature, is the first Pakistani film in history to be presented at the Cannes Film Festival and the first to be shortlisted for the Oscars.
Filmography
2022 – Joyland, ff
2019 – Darling, sf
2018 – Nowhere, sf
2018 – Nice Talking To You, sf
2017 –The Caretaker, sf
2016 – Blackbird, sf
2015 – The Letters of Mikael Muhammad, sf
2014 – Stepmotherland, sf