Saim Sadiq's 'Joyland' became the first Pakistani film to win an award at Cannes, which was also a first for the subcontinent. 'Joyland' was nominated in the Un Certain Regard category and won the Jury Prize as well as the Prix Queer Palm for best LGBT movie.

Earlier this month, the independent film made history by becoming the first Pakistani feature film to be nominated at the Cannes Film Festival. It was screened at the 75th Anniversary, and received a standing ovation following the screening. The film also made history by being selected as one of 14 films in the feature film category.

Pakistan film ‘Joyland’ debuts at Cannes

The film was well-received at Cannes, also winning in Venice prior to Cannes.

“Joyland will echo across the world,” the jury head, French director Catherine Corsini stated. “It has strong characters who are both complex and real. Nothing is distorted. We were blown away by this film.”

Joyland, written and directed by debut filmmaker Sadiq, tells the story of a patriarchal family system yearning for a baby boy to continue the family line, while their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theater and falls for an ambitious transsexual starlet.

'Dream come true' for Pakistan's first Cannes screening

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a two-time Oscar winning documentary filmmaker, in an interview to Al Jazeera, stated,

“To have a Pakistani film for the first time premiere at Cannes – a story that is germane to Pakistan, that is produced by Pakistanis, where the major cast and the crew come from this country, really shows the strides that this generation of filmmakers have made.

“I think that Saim’s film at Cannes is going to open the floodgates for many filmmakers who will now realise the possibility of creating films that can shine on the international stage.”

The Cannes Film Festival ran from May 17 to 28, with prizes awarded on the last day.

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