Profile: Saim Sadiq

When a first feature film debuts at Cannes and wins the Jury Prize in Un Certain Regard, as well as the Queer Palm (beating out other national Oscar entries like Close and The Blue Caftan), there’s clearly a director to watch behind it. Saim Sadiq can add to these awards another distinction: Joyland is the first Pakistani film to have been selected for a Cannes screening. The engaging story of a married man who falls in love with a trans woman erotic dancer, and the chain of dramatic consequences that derives, has enchanted festival audiences wherever it is shown. Boldly selected as Pakistan’s entry for the Academy’s Best International Feature Film Awards, it was scheduled for domestic release until the news two weeks ago that the government had withdrawn its censorship certificate. But the ban was quickly overturned and the film is now in limited release in Pakistan.

A native of Lahore, Sadiq got a degree in Anthropology from Lahore University and an MFA from Columbia’s School of the Arts. His short film Nice Talking to You (2019) played at SXSW and Palm Springs before being shortlisted at BAFTA as best student film. Next, Sadiq trained his camera on the world of trans dancers in Darling, which won the Venice Orizzonti award for best short film. After an impressive festival run, it was acquired by Focus Features. The short is clearly the progenitor of Joyland’s transgressive and fascinating setting in a hugely popular erotic dance theater, where the hero finds employment.