Two weeks before the release of the award-winning film Joyland’s trailer is out on YouTube. Within two minutes, the trailer dives a little deep into the complexities of the characters and storyline in an attempt to gear up the audience for a roller coaster ride of emotions.
The trailer begins with changing visuals of a city, captured from within a moving vehicle, with Alina Khan’s voice in the background saying “aik joke suna” (tell a joke). Following that Ali Junejo’s character narrates the infamous story of a mosquito and chicken falling in love and then eventually dying. This is narrated parallel to the visuals of a child followed by a dead body which highlights the complexities that the story is woven with and also how it is going to be an amalgamation of bitterness and happiness; the two very familiar characteristics of life itself.
The trailer then introduces us to the Rana family who are oblivious to their son’s (Ali Junejo) new life in the theater where he meets ‘Biba’ (Alina Khan) and joins a dancing troupe. It is a well-edited trailer that takes us from one scene to another, in which the audience is treated with changing visuals and very few dialogues. We see a few glimpses of Alina Khan; in one scene we see her dancing in the theater, followed by a scene where she is training people to dance, and the most heart-wrenching of all is a scene in the hospital, where she is covered in blood.
We also see glimpses of Rasti Farooq and Sarwat Gilani sharing some endearing and light-hearted moments. In addition, we see Rasti Farooq and Ali Junejo together, who are playing the role of a married couple in the film, sharing some palpable chemistry. They depict the story of a couple who are bounded by secrets and obligations and separated by desires and urge to live life on their own terms.
Lastly, we see shots of Rana family. They are introduced in a millisecond with a single-eye movement.
Watch the trailer here:
According to IMDb, the story revolves around a “…happily patriarchal Rana family who craves for the birth of a baby boy. the youngest of the Rana men secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and finds himself falling for a fiercely ambitious trans starlet. Their impossible love story slowly illuminates the entire Rana family’s desire for a sexual rebellion.”
The film got recognition on many international platforms and has bagged a number of awards including winning the Queer Palm and Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, where it also got an eight-minute standing ovation. In addition, the film also won the award for the ‘Best Film From The Subcontinent’ at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. Moreover, the film got another standing ovation this September at the Toronto International Film Festival at its North American premiere.
Written by Saim Sadiq and Maggie Briggs, directed by Saim Sadiq, and produced by Sarmad Khoosat, the film features Ali Junejo, Alina Khan, Rasti Farooq, Sarwat Gilani, Sania Saeed, Sohail Sameer, and Salmaan Peerzada.
The film will release on 18th November all across Pakistan.
