Pakistani filmmaker Saim Sadiq’s Darling has made it to the prestigious Venice Film Festival, the world’s oldest film festival.
Darling is the first-ever short film to be screened at the Venice Film Festival, one of “Big Three” festivals, alongside Cannes and Berlin.
Set in a dance theatre in Lahore, the film revolves around a young boy and a trans girl. It features Alina Malik,Mehar Bano, Abdullah Malik(as Shani), and veteran actress Nadia Afgan in the lead. The role of Alina is played by Alina Khan, a real transgender actor from Lahore for whom the film marks as her acting debut.
The film is produced by Mahak Jiwani and Nadia Afgan. The short film’s co-producers include and Fahad Nabi and Jasmin Tennuci, with Mo Azmi(who produced and shot Cake and Laal Kabootar) as the director of photography.
The director, Saim Sadiq, is a 28 year-old filmmaker from Lahore and is currently completing his graduate degree in film directing from Columbia University in New York.
Sadiq’s previous short film, Nice Talking to You, was an official selection at South by Southwest 2019, Palm Springs International Shortsfest 2019, and bagged Vimeo’s Best Director award at Columbia University Film Festival 2018.
Darling’s world premiere will take place in Venice in September 2019.
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