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Joyland
Institute of Contemporary Arts
Joyland, dir. Saim Sadiq, Pakistan 2022, 126 min., Urdu with English subtitles


Haider (Ali Junejo) is an unemployed married man living in Lahore. Sensitive in disposition and accepting of his wife’s ambitions, he finds his masculinity ridiculed by his stern, wheelchair-bound father and older alpha-male brother. Encountering Biba (Alina Khan), a trans woman who performs in an erotic theatre group, Haider finds welcome release in this safe space. Employed as a back-up dancer in her act, Haider and Biba fall in love, upturning the uneasy balance of his family.

Sadiq’s drama skilfully details the corrosive nature of patriarchy in all aspects of traditional family life, from sons, daughters and wives, and the limiting roles they are expected to play, to the circumscribed behaviour of fathers. The result is a fearless yet sensitive exploration of gender expectations and taboos.
 
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