aGLIFF in partnership with Indie Meme Film Festival present
JOYLAND | Pakistan | 2021 | 127 minutes | Urdu & Punjabi with English subtitlesWriter and Director: Saim Sadiq | Producers: Apoorva Guru Charan, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, Sabiha Sumar, Lauren Mann | Cast: Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, Sarwat Gilani, Sania Saeed, Salmann Peerzada
The Galaxy Theatres | 6700 Middle Fiskville Rd. | Austin 78752
7:00 p.m. Screening
Since premiering and winning the Jury Prize in the 2022 Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival (the first to do so from the Indian subcontinent), Joyland has moved audiences worldwide with its human portrayal of the limits of love in the face of patriarchy.
Haider rushes his sister-in-law to the hospital, where she gives birth to a girl, devastating the extended family desperate for a baby boy. The brothers’ elderly father is still hopeful Haider and his wife, Mumtaz, despite their unorthodox relationship, will bring them their much-desired male heir. Everything changes, though, when Haider takes a job as a backup dancer at an erotic theater and falls in love with its beautiful transgender star Biba.
Joyland is both a loving portrait of the people of Lahore, Pakistan, and a painful depiction of how traditional gender roles and repressed sexuality harm all. Showcasing incredible performances and shot with a sharp yet kind eye, feature debut writer-director Saim Sadiq crafts an unforgettable cinematic experience about how vaguely understood but powerful societal expectations can destroy an individual, relationship, and family.
All events are FREE for aGLIFF Members and guests who register in advance. JOYLAND is $15 for non-members. aGLIFF Members also receive unlimited guest passes to the Queer Spectrum series until further notice. Event registration for members and single tickets are available now at agliff.org/queer-spectrum.