Pakistan makes Cannes debut with Saim Sadiq's 'Joyland'

Days after getting the first-ever Grammy, Pakistan is all set to debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival this year with filmmaker Saim Sadiq’s movie ‘Joyland’.

On Thursday, the Twitter handle of ‘Festival de Cannes’ made the announcement of films that made the cut at the 75th edition of the most prestigious Cannes Film Festival slated to take place from May 17-28.

Among the mentions was the first-ever Pakistani film to be selected to screen at the festival. ‘Joyland’, a feature film by young Pakistani filmmaker Saim Sadiq is the one to make it to the list of 14 features in the category ‘UnCertain Regard’ to screen at Cannes, making it the country’s debut at the film festival.

JOYLAND by Saim SADIQ (First film)#UnCertainRegard #Cannes2022

— Festival de Cannes (@Festival_Cannes) April 14, 2022

Speaking about the honor, Saim said, “I hope it [Joyland] generates positivity and good debate at home in Pakistan and around the world because a lot of very passionate people have put a lot of heart and soul into this film.”

Soon after the news broke on the internet, a number of celebs including the cast of the movie, Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, international stars Nimra Bucha, and Mahira Khan among others turned to social media to laud Saim Sadiq for giving this honor to Pakistan.

Here is what Showbiz celebs have to say.

This is amaaaazin’G!

Congratulations to the entire team. And to Pakistan 🙌🏼💋👊🏼💃🏽 https://t.co/NOvHKcIiRK

— Mahira Khan (@TheMahiraKhan) April 14, 2022

This is FANTASTIC. What a huge moment for Pakistani cinema. Congratulations, Saim and the entire team of Joyland! https://t.co/q79oopWz6y

— Osman Khalid Butt (@aClockworkObi) April 14, 2022

For those unversed, Saim is not new to making Pakistan proud. Earlier his short film ‘Darling’ bagged an award at Venice Film Festival in 2019. After having its world premiere at the same festival, the title won the ‘Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film’.