Directed by Saim Sadiq • 2022 • Pakistan
Starring Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan

The first Pakistani film to debut at Cannes—where it was awarded both the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard category and the Queer Palm—this tender, emotionally captivating debut from writer-director Saim Sadiq explores the many sides of love and desire in a patriarchal society. Gentle and timid, Haider (Ali Junejo) lives with his wife and family in Lahore. Following a long spell of unemployment, Haider finally lands a job at a Bollywood-style burlesque as a backup dancer. The unusual position shakes up the tradition-bound 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 (Alina Khan) who runs the show—a partnership that opens his eyes and ultimately his worldview, in ways both unexpected and intimate.

“Brimming with life and novelistic detail . . . a delicate, intelligent and emotionally rich film. What a debut from Sadiq.”
—Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“Luminous . . . Tartly funny and plungingly sad in equal measure, this is nuanced, humane queer filmmaking.”
—Guy Lodge, Variety

“Sadiq is not lecturing us or trading in types; he is taking us by sensory surprise, and the tale that he tells is funny, forward, and sometimes woundingly sad.”
—Anthony Lane, The New Yorker