Pakistani film 바카라˜Joyland바카라™ which is written and directed by debutant, Saim Sadiq, won the Jury prize in the Un Certain Regard section of the 75th Cannes Film Festival on May 28. It became the first ever film from the subcontinent to bag the award.Â
바카라˜Joyland바카라™, a drama about a Lahore family in the firm grip of deep-rooted patriarchy, was pipped to the section's top award, the Un Certain Regard Prize, by the French film 바카라˜Les Pires바카라™ (The Worst Ones), helmed by the Paris-based directing duo of Lisa Akoka and Romane Gueret.Â
바카라˜Les Pires바카라™ is the second female-helmed film in two years to win the coveted award. Last year, the Un Certain Regard prize was won by Kira Kivalenko's 바카라˜Unclenching the Fists바카라™. The award for 바카라˜Joyland바카라™ represents a global breakthrough of immeasurable proportions for the relatively small Pakistani movie industry.
Incidentally, 바카라˜Joyland바카라™ also won the Prix Queer Palm, awarded by Jury chaired by filmmaker Catherine Corsini on Friday. One of the central characters in the film is a transwoman played by a real-life transwoman Alina Khan.Â
The Un Certain Regard Best Director Award went to the Romanian director Alexandre Belc for 바카라˜Metronom바카라™, while the Best Screenplay Prize was bagged by the Israeli-Palestinian director Maha Haj for 바카라˜Mediterranean Fever바카라™.
Luxembourg actress Vicky Krieps, for her performance in Austrian filmmaker Marie Kreutzer's 바카라˜Corsage바카라™, shared the best acting award with French actor Adam Bessa's turn in Nathan Lotfy's 바카라˜Harka바카라™. The Un Certain Regard jury was chaired by Italian producer-director-actress Valeria Golino.
[With Inputs From PTI]
