Saim Sadiq (Joyland Director) Wiki, Age, Girlfriend, Family, Biography & More

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Saim Sadiq is a Pakistani director, who has directed several documentaries and short films. He gained recognition when his film Joyland became the first Pakistani film to enter the Cannes and win several accolades internationally in 2022.

Contents

Wiki/Biography

Saim Sadiq was born on Thursday, 28 March 1991 (age 31 years; as of 2022) in Lahore, Punjab Province, Pakistan. In 2010, after completing his schooling at St Mary’s Academy in Pakistan, Saim Sadiq enrolled at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), where he earned a degree in BSc (Honours) Anthropology/Sociology. According to Saim, he did not pay attention to his studies during graduation but managed to secure a GPA of 3.1. While talking about it in a Facebook post, 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.”

After graduating from LUMS, in 2014, Saim Sadiq enrolled at Columbia University School of the Arts. There, he pursued a master’s degree in fine arts in Film Direction/Screenwriting. He graduated from Columbia University School of the Arts in 2019 in the US. ^[1]Saim Sadiq’s Facebook Account

Physical Appearance

Height (approx.): 5′ 9″

Hair Colour: Black

Eye Colour: Light Brown

Family

Saim Sadiq belongs to a conservative middle-class Pakistani family. ^[2]Columbia University School of the Arts

Parents & Siblings

His father is a retired Pakistan Army officer.

A photo of Saim Sadiq with his parents

His sister, Abeer Sadiq, works as an Information Technology Analyst at Coles in Melbourne, Australia.

A photo of Abeer Sadiq with her mother Nadia Afgan

Wife & Children

As of November 2022, Saim Sadiq is unmarried.

Relationships/Affairs

Saim Sadiq is in a relationship with Maggie Briggs, who is a filmmaker.

A photo of Saim Sadiq with Maggie Briggs

Career

Writer

Saim Sadiq worked as a writer at Pakistan Today from February 2011 to July 2011. From July 2011 to August 2012, Saim worked as a writer at Express Tribune.

Documentaries

While studying at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Saim Sadiq produced several documentaries on religious minorities and children living in Pakistan. His documentaries were not only aired on different Pakistani channels but also on the BBC. In 2014, Saim Sadiq produced a documentary film named Stepmotherland, which was a documentary based on the Blasphemy laws of Pakistan. In the same year, he co-directed a Pakistani music video titled Kithay Nain Na Jorin. While pursuing graduation, Saim Sadiq, along with his friend, started a media production company named Tamasha.

A poster of Saim Sadiq’s media production company Tamasha

Short Films

In 2015, Saim Sadiq made his debut as a director with a short film titled The Letters of Mikael Muhammad. He also wrote the script for the short film.

In 2016, he directed and wrote the script for Blackbird, a short film. In 2017, he directed Pasban (The Caretaker), which was showcased at numerous film festivals across the world.

A poster of Pasban (The Caretaker)

In 2018, Saim Sadiq directed and wrote the script for the short film Nowhere. In 2019, Saim Sadiq directed and wrote the script of Darling, a short film that 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 holding Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film at the 2019 Venice Film Festival

Saim Sadiq holding the SXSW award that his directed short film Darling received

In the same year, Saim Sadiq directed another short film Nice Talking To You, which premiered at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival. The film was featured at the 2019 Palm Springs International Film Festival. In 2019, the short film was shortlisted by BAFTA for Best Student Film.

Feature Film

In 2022, Saim Sadiq directed his first feature film Joyland. The film featured Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, and Sarwat Gilani. Saim also wrote the script of the film.

On 23 May 2022, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was shortlisted for Un Certain Regard, a section of the Cannes Film Festival’s official selection, and competed for the Caméra d’Or award. Joyland became the first Pakistani film to make its way to the Cannes Film Festival. The film also received a standing ovation from the crowd at the festival. The film made it to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where it was featured in the Special Presentations section on 8 September 2022.

Saim Sadiq at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)

On 6 October 2022, at the 27th Busan International Film Festival, Joyland was featured in the “A Window on Asian Cinema” section. In November 2022, the Pakistani government banned the film, which was slated to be released in the country on 18 November 2022. The film was cleared to be released in Pakistan after receiving an “A” certification from Pakistan’s Federal and Provincial censor boards. On 11 November 2022, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting banned the film after a religious political party leader filed a complaint about the film. In its notification, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said,

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.”

Certificate that was issued to Joyland by the Censor Board of Sindh Province

Saim Sadiq called the decision of the government unconstitutional. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, however, reversed its earlier made decision on 16 December 2022, clearing the film for release in Pakistan after censoring a few scenes. The film was released in Pakistan on 18 November 2022. Joyland has won several accolades including the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize and the Queer Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival, the title of Best Film From The Subcontinent category at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, 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. In September 2022, the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee (PASC) chose Joyland as Pakistan’s official submission for the 95th Academy Awards (Oscars).