Alongside its jury prize win in Cannes, Joyland also received the Queer Palme Award on the Croisette, as well as Special Jury Mention at SXSW and an Honourable Mention for the Sutherland Award at the London Film Festival. Joyland is the first feature film from Pakistan to make the shortlist for the Academy Awards.
The feature follows a patriarchal family as they yearn for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line, while their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for an ambitious trans starlet. Their impossible love story begins to illuminate the entire family’s desire for a sexual rebellion.
The film is the feature debut of writer and director Saim Sadiq whose previous short Darling won the Orizzonti Best Short Film award at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. The film stars Ali Junejo, Alina Khan, Rasti Farooq, Sarwat Gilani, Sohail Sameer, Salman Peerzada, and Sania Saeed. Cinematography is by Joe Saade who DoP work includes Mounia Akl's Costa Brava Lebanon and Jimmy Keyrouz's Broken Keys.
Studio Soho, the film's UK distributors is a UK film distribution and international sales agent company, based in Portland Mews, Soho. Offering theatrical, home entertainment and television sales for independent feature films, produced in the UK and internationally. In the last 12 months alone, the company has released 10 films in over 350 cinemas. From Academy Award nominated title, The Man Who Sold His Skin, by Kaouther Ben Hania, to Sadie Frost’s directorial debut Quant, to Cannes Official Selection, Here We Are, we are quickly building a reputation for exceptional content.
Located in the heart of Soho’s creative district, Studio Soho is a part of Film Soho, a fast-growing talent led film and TV studio.
Joyland will be in UK cinemas on February 24th of this year.
