(Cannes) The Pakistani film joylandthe first from this country in the official selection at Cannes, was awarded the “Queer Palm” LGBT award on Friday evening by the jury chaired by French filmmaker Catherine Corsini.
Posted at 4:17 p.m.
“It’s an extremely strong film, which represents everything we stand for,” the director told AFP. “This film will resonate around the world. Wherever there are prohibitions on homosexuality”.
First feature film by Saim Sadiq, presented at Un certain regard, joyland sweeps away all the clichés that prevail in the West about Pakistani society and deals with repressed homosexuality and established transsexuals, with the character of Madame Biba, an ambitious and colorful magazine leader.
The film tells the story of Haider (Ali Junejo), youngest son of a family unit living under the authority of the patriarch. His wife works, he doesn’t, they don’t have any children yet and you can tell he’s disappointing his old father, by not adopting the virile outlines in force.
He ends up finding a job as a dancer in a cabaret whose stars are transgender artists, and falls in love with one of them, Biba.
” In joyland, there is no caricature. There are beautiful characters, which are complex and realistic. We were overwhelmed by this film, and very happy to win it,” said Catherine Corsini, who won the “Queer Palm” last year for The divide.
The film, which was in competition, follows a couple of women on the verge of breaking up, finding themselves in the hospital, one day of demonstration of the Yellow Vests. An explosive situation at all levels.
Created in 2010 by critic Franck Finance-Madureira, the “Queer Palm” rewards each year a film and short films dealing with LGBT themes, ” queer » or feminists, among all the Cannes selections.