Joyland

Q&As with Saim Sadiq on April 1 and 2

Garnering acclaim and accolades around the world, including the prestigious Queer Palm at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, this transgressive and humane drama bravely interrogates expectations around gender and sexuality in contemporary Pakistan. In the city of Lahore, married househusband Haider (Ali Junejo), long out of work, finally lands an unexpected gig as a backup dancer for transgender performer Biba (Alina Khan), a popular local exotic dancer with whom he becomes infatuated. Hiding the particulars of his work from his conservative family, Haider nevertheless feels free to tell his more open-minded, progressive wife, Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq), though she is going through her own difficulties after being forced to leave her beloved hairdressing job now that her husband is providing for the household. Grappling with thorny subject matter—which proved controversial in writer-director Saim Sadiq’s home country, where the film was initially banned by the right-wing authorities—the filmmaker always maintains profound compassion and empathy for every character in his beautifully acted film’s orbit. An Oscilloscope Laboratories release.