Best film from the Subcontinent: ‘Joyland’ bags huge award at Indian Film Fest of Melbourne

Creators Saim Sadiq, Apoorva Charan, actors Alina Khan, Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq walked the stage to claim the honour

The applause gets louder for Saim Sadiq’s Joyland each time! After experiencing a standing ovation and a win at Cannes, the cast went through another historical moment as the short queer drama won another award at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM). Joyland was termed a winner in the Best Film from the Subcontinent category at the prestigious festival and we couldn’t be prouder!

IFFM, happening currently till 30^th of August, kick-started its first physical event on 12^th August ever since the pandemic. The event's official Instagram account shared glimpses from the award ceremony live for the audiences to see. 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Alina Khan (@onlyalinakhan)

A clip that saw director Sadiq and actor Alina Khan walking on stage with their team to collect their award read, “Congratulations team Joyland for Best Film from the Subcontinent!”

Another clip saw the Indian producer, Apoorva Charan, wish Pakistan a “happy birthday” on the occasion of its 75^th Independence Day on stage and an early birthday to India. With the award in hand, she reminisced, “Last Diwali, I was in Lahore and the cast and crew helped me celebrate on set and it made it so special for me.”

The category had Joyland competing with Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom from Bhutan, No Land’s Man and Rehana Maryam Noor from Bangladesh, and The Newspaper from Sri Lanka.

About Joyland, Saim had shared with The Express Tribune, “Emotionally, observationally, if I’ve seen a vulnerable moment in my mother or aunt, I have inculcated that in Joyland. When you feel, you don’t belong to that boys’ club, how it doesn’t come naturally to you, you start wondering if it makes you any less of a man. When you’re not interested in cricket or having other ‘masculine traits’, you start questioning the notion of masculinity. Why those nuances are so strict? Why do they stifle you unnecessarily? Those things did make their way into the film. Understanding the privilege that comes with being a man also made its way into Joyland.”

Joyland, a tale of the sexual revolution, tells the story of the youngest son of a patriarchal family who is expected to produce a baby boy with his wife. Instead, he joins an erotic dance club and falls for a trans woman.