Directed by Saim Sadiq • Drama • With Alina Khan, Ali Junejo • 2023 • 127 minutes
The debut feature from writer-director Saim Sadiq, JOYLAND explores the many sides of love and desire in a patriarchal society. Gentle and timid, Haider (Ali Junejo) lives with his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq), his father, and his elder brother’s family in Lahore, Pakistan. Following a long spell of unemployment, Haider finally lands a job at a Bollywood-style burlesque, telling his family he is a theater manager, when in actuality, he is a backup dancer. The unusual position shakes up the steadfast traditional dynamics of his household and enables Haider to break out of his shell. As he acclimates to the new job, Haider becomes infatuated with the strong-willed trans woman Biba (Alina Khan) who runs the show—an unforeseen partnership that opens his eyes and ultimately his worldview, in ways both unexpected and intimate.
Up Next in August's Top 30 Films
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The Hole (Tsai Ming-liang)
Directed by Tsai Ming-liang • Drama • With Lee Kang-Sheng; Yang Kuei-Mei • 1998 • 89 minutes
Set just prior to the start of the 21st century, this vaguely futuristic story follows two residents of a quickly crumbling building who refuse to leave their homes in spite of a virus that has forced th...
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The Soul of the Bossales
Directed by François Perlier • Documentary • 2024 • 81 minutes
The “Bossales” were the African slaves who won the Haitian war of independence. This term now qualifies as a rebellious person, like the protagonists of the film. Charlotte, a human rights defender, Foukifoura, a satirical columnist,...
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The Cinema Within
Directed by Chad Freidrichs • Documentary • 2025 • 93 minutes
From the director of The Pruitt-Igoe Myth comes a documentary about the psychology of film editing.
Why do film cuts work? Why do people around the world – even children – so effortlessly understand them? In real life we don't instan...
