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JOYLAND

  • 2023
  • 2 HR, 6 min
  • MAY 12 → MAY 25
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Details
Released April 7, 2023
Pakistan
2 hours, 6 minutes
Oscilloscope Laboratories
Urdu and Punjabi with English Subtitles
Starring
  • Ali Junejo
  • Rasti Farooq
  • Alina Khan
  • Sarwat Gilani
  • Salmaan Peerzada
  • Sania Saeed
Director

Saim Sadiq

Film Information

The debut feature from writer-director Saim Sadiq, JOYLAND explores the many sides of love and desire in a patriarchal society. Gentle and timid, Haider (Ali Junejo) lives with his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq), his father, and his elder brother’s family in Lahore, Pakistan. Following a long spell of unemployment, Haider finally lands a job at a Bollywood-style burlesque, telling his family he is a theater manager, when in actuality, he is a backup dancer. The unusual position shakes up the steadfast traditional dynamics of his household and enables Haider to break out of his shell. As he acclimates to the new job, Haider becomes infatuated with the strong-willed trans woman Biba (Alina Khan) who runs the show—an unforeseen partnership that opens his eyes and ultimately his worldview, in ways both unexpected and intimate.

Film Stills

Full Cast
Ali Junejo
Rasti Farooq
Alina Khan
Sarwat Gilani
Salmaan Peerzada
Sania Saeed
Additional Credits
Saim Sadiq Director

Reviews

“Joyland is such a delicate, intelligent and emotionally rich film. What a debut from Sadiq.”

Peter Bradshaw
Guardian

“Sadiq is not lecturing us or trading in types; he is taking us by sensory surprise, and the tale that he tells is funny, forward, and sometimes woundingly sad.”

Anthony Lane
New Yorker

“The picture transcends the tragic romance narrative, to achieve something rather more complex and satisfying.”

Wendy Ide
Observer (UK)

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