IMAGE+NATION: JOYLAND

The first Pakistani film officially selected for Cannes and Pakistan’s 2022 Oscars entry, Saim Sadiq’s feisty drama extends empathy to each complicated member of Haider’s fractious family and the trans woman he falls for as he trips his way into an erotic dance group, and into love.

Cash-strapped Biba (trans actress Alina Khan) is wily, determined to have just a sliver of the spotlight to save herself from demeaning side jobs. The bumbling, kindly Haider (charismatic newcomer Ali Junejo) enters her orbit as a backup dancer, then a paramour, though he has a wife (Rasti Farooq) at home desperate to reach beyond its conservative confines and a family he lies to about work specifics. More troubling for Biba, Haider doesn’t quite know how to handle her womanhood, confused about the contours of his sexuality. In the oppressive heat of Lahore – its lanes and rooftops captured in Rembrandt-rich tones – the neighbours gossip from unseen places and modern individuals chafe at the prescribed roles still shackling them. As each experiences separate joys, it is unclear if they’ll be able to allow themselves – and one another – new realms of happiness.