Saim Sadiq’s directorial film Joyland has finally got a release date. The film is set to release in Pakistan on November 18th, 2022 and the team is leaving no stone unturned in promoting it.
In his recent interview with a local news outlet, Sadiq and Alina Khan discussed how they were curious to see what conversation the film will start in Pakistan.
“Any other debate or discourse that comes out of it, even if it’s not pleasant, as long as it’s civil and it leads to people talking to each other and sharing their different views, is okay. If one person identifies with Haider’s character more, the other will relate to Mumtaz or Biba, that’s what’s interesting about this film. There’s something for everyone to relate with and they’ll have something to talk about after the film instead of ‘bus, maza aya’.”
Moreover, Sadiq added how Joyland‘s story was not made with the intent to offend but to make people empathise with what makes them uncomfortable otherwise
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Joyland is Pakistan’s official submission to Oscars 2023 and shortly after that was announced in late September, Pakistani activist and Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai joined the film as an executive producer.
“Of course, with the Oscars, there’s optimism and excitement but the intent is for the film to be seen and the Oscars will enable that eventual goal. I want all kinds of people to see it instead of it becoming a niche for people who already agree with my point,”
Furthermore, Alina Khan also revealed how her character is, in fact, nothing like who she is in real life. Describing her character’s main struggles in the film, Khan noted that her main struggle is “to bring acceptance into the world.”
Written and directed by Sadiq, and produced by Apoorva Guru Charan, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, and Lauren Mann, Joyland features Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, Sarwat Gillani, Salman Peerzada, Sohail Sameer, and Sania Saeed. Shot in Lahore, it is a bittersweet tale of repressed desire and the quest for individual freedom.
Saim Sadiq s Joyland nominated for Oscars by Pakistani Academy Selection Committee
