The Cannes Film Festival 2022 announced that the film ‘Joyland’ had been selected to feature at its 75th-anniversary presentation. The short film is directed by Pakistani filmmaker Saim Sadiq and stars Sana Jafri and Ali Junejo in leading roles. It is the first-ever Pakistani film to make at the Cannes in France. However, director Saim Sadiq received a similar honour in 2019. His movie Darling became the first-ever Pakistani movie to be selected for screening at the Venice Film Festival in Italy.
Cannes Film Festival 2022 Gives Un Certain Regard to Joyland
The Cannes is organised in three different sections; The Official Selection, The Parallel Sections, and Events. The feature films are presented in The Official Selection, which is the main event of the festival. It has further 9 categories that select only 14 films. Cannes Film Festival 2022 added ‘Joyland’ in the Un Certain Regard category, which includes original works from multiple cultures that can certainly make a subtle but strong impact on cinema across the world.
Saim told the media that he was grateful for the honour and thanked his cast crew for putting in a lot of hard work. He hoped that the film would be received as positively in Pakistan as it was received internationally. Not much detail is out regarding this film, but according to some reports, it features a transgender character. Saim also hoped that his movie would generate a meaningful debate in Pakistan.
Pakistani Celebrities Praise Joyland on Social Media
Many celebrities from Pakistan’s entertainment industry congratulated ‘Joyland’ for making it to the Cannes Film Festival 2022. They took to social media and praised the crew behind the short film. These celebrities include Adnan Siddiqui, Humayun Saeed, Mahira Khan, Osman Khalid Butt, Nadia Afghan, Sarwat Gilani, Meher Bano, Nimra Bucha, Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, and Mehreen Jabbar. Saim’s film getting selected for a 14-movie premier is a proud moment for artists in Pakistan.
The Year of Pakistani Artists
Pakistani artists have been on a roll lately. Besides making a debut at Cannes Film Festival 2022, Pakistan has made its mark on several other global entertainment stages. On 28th March 2021, British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmad won his first Oscar for Best Actor in Live Action Short Film, The Long Good Bye (2020), which he also co-wrote. Then this year, on 4th April, Arooj Aftab became the first Pakistani singer to win a Grammy award in the Best Global Performance category.
