(AFP) A Pakistani movie featuring a daring portrait of a transgender dancer in the Muslim country on Friday won the Cannes “Queer Palm” prize …
(AFP) A Pakistani movie featuring a daring portrait of a transgender dancer in the Muslim country on Friday won the Cannes “Queer Palm” prize for best LGBT, “queer” or feminist-themed movie, the jury head told AFP.
“Joyland” by director Saim Sadiq, a tale of sexual revolution, tells the story of the youngest son in a patriarchal family who is expected to produce a baby boy with his wife. He instead joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for the troupe’s director, a trans woman. It is the first-ever Pakistani competitive entry at the Cannes festival and on Friday also won the Jury Prize in the “Un Certain Regard” competition, a segment focusing on young, innovative cinema talent.
“It’s a very powerful film, that represents everything that we stand for,” “Queer Palm” jury head, French director Catherine Corsini, told AFP. Corsini herself took the award last year with “La Fracture”, which features a lesbian couple’s relationship against the backdrop of the “Yellow Vest” movement in France.
