Saim Sadiq (Joyland Director)

Some Lesser Known Facts About Saim Sadiq

• Saim Sadiq is a Pakistani director who came into the limelight in 2022 after his directed film Joyland became the first movie from Pakistan to be showcased at the Cannes Film Festival.

• In February 2011, Saim Sadiq began working for Pakistan Today as a writer. He worked there till July 2011.

• From July 2011 to August 2012, Saim Sadiq worked at the Express Tribune as a writer.

• In a Facebook post, Saim Sadiq wrote that he was not serious about his education during graduation, and he somehow managed to secure a 3.1 GPA. He said,
  

  At LUMS, I genuinely did not give a shit about my academics at all. I somehow managed a 3.1, bunked classes, travelled to seven different countries, made a risky documentary about blasphemy laws for my SPROJ, won Model UN awards, organized an international student conference, failed quizzes, laughed them off, and made friends who genuinely matter to me. And in all this imperfection, I lived the most regretless experience of my life.”

• While pursuing graduation, Saim Sadiq co-founded Tamasha, a media production company, and produced several documentaries which were not only aired on national Pakistani TV channels but also on BBC. His documentaries were based on children and religious and ethnic minorities residing in Pakistan.

  

• In April 2013, Saim Sadiq began working as the Director General of LUMUN, where he worked till May 2014.

  

• On blasphemy laws in Pakistan, Saim Sadiq made a documentary titled Stepmotherland, which was released in 2014.

• Saim Sadiq co-directed Kithay Nain Na Jorin, a Pakistani music video in 2014.

• In 2016, Saim Sadiq directed a short film titled Blackbird. He also wrote the film’s script.

• Saim Sadiq directed the 2017 short film Pasban (The Caretaker), which was showcased at numerous international film festivals.

  

• Saim Sadiq directed and wrote the script for Nowhere, a 2018 short film.

• In the 2019 short film Darling, Saim Sadiq worked as a director and a scriptwriter. The film won the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and the Special Jury Recognition Award at the 2020 SXSW Film Awards.
  

  

  

• Saim Sadiq’s directed 2019 short film Nice Talking To You premiered at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival. In the same year, the short film was showcased at the Palm Spring International Film Festival and was shortlisted by BAFTA in the category of Best Student Film.

• In 2022, Saim Sadiq directed and wrote the script for his first feature film Joyland, which featured actors like Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, and Sarwat Gilani.

• Joyland made its world premiere on 23 May 2022 at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was shortlisted under the category of Un Certain Regard to compete for the Caméra d’Or award. After the screening of the film at the Cannes Film Festival, the crowd gave a standing ovation. There, the film received Un Certain Regard Jury Prize and the Queer Palm Award.

• On 8 September 2022, Joyland was showcased at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) under the Special Presentations category.

  

• Joyland was showcased in South Korea at the 27th Busan International Film Festival in the “A Window on Asian Cinema” category on 6 October 2022.

• Joyland was slated to be released in Pakistan on 18 November 2022; however, on 11 November 2022, the film was banned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, even after receiving an “Adult” certification from the Federal and Provincial censor boards. The film was banned by the government after a politician from a religious political party wrote a complaint to the ministry. In its order, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting stated,
  

  Written complaints were received that the film contains highly objectionable material which do not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly repugnant to the norms of ‘decency and morality’ as laid down in the Section 9 of the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979,” the order states. “Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 9(2) (a) of the said Ordinance and after conducting a comprehensive inquiry, the Federal Government declares the feature film titled ‘Joyland’ as an uncertified film for the whole of Pakistan in the cinemas which fall under the jurisdiction of CBFC with immediate effect.”

  On 16 December 2022, after Saim Sadiq called the ministry’s order unconstitutional and started a movement on social media seeking the release of the film, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting lifted the ban on the film. The film was released in Pakistan on 18 November 2022 after some erotic scenes were removed from it.

  

• Various accolades won by the film include the Sutherland Award – Honourable Mention at the London Film Festival, the Young Cinema Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), and the Golden Pram Award for the Best Feature Film at the Zagreb Film Festival. The film also won the “Best Film From The Subcontinent” category at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

• In September 2022, Joyland became Pakistan’s official film, which was selected by the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee (PASC) for the 95th Academy Awards (Oscars).

• In a Facebook post, Saim Sadiq wrote that he was not serious about his education during graduation, and he somehow managed to secure a 3.1 GPA. He said,
  

  At LUMS, I genuinely did not give a shit about my academics at all. I somehow managed a 3.1, bunked classes, travelled to seven different countries, made a risky documentary about blasphemy laws for my SPROJ, won Model UN awards, organized an international student conference, failed quizzes, laughed them off, and made friends who genuinely matter to me. And in all this imperfection, I lived the most regretless experience of my life.”

• Saim Sadiq often posts photographs of himself smoking on social media.