Riz Ahmed on Pakistani movie ‘Joyland’: “Amazing storytelling, writing, acting, and artistry”
Actor Riz Ahmed has served as an executive producer on the Pakistani drama Joyland and has given high praise to Saim Sadiq’s film. The Sound of Metal and Four Lions star took to Instagram to pay his respect to the acting performances, writing and storytelling of the new film.
“You might hear a lot of talk about how Joyland is a groundbreaking film. And it is. First Pakistani film to get into Cannes Film Festival, the first to win all these awards across the world, the first queer love story to be released in Pakistan, and the first to make an impact like this,” Ahmed said.
He added, “But beyond all of those ways it makes history, I guarantee you this film will just make you laugh, smile, and cry. Amazing storytelling, writing, acting, and artistry.” The film focuses on a patriarchal family longing for a male child to be born while the youngest child falls in love with a trans woman.
Left Handed Films, Ahmed’s production company, released a statement on Joyland last year. They said, “Saim Sadiq’s filmmaking is both understated and gut-wrenching. His writing is consistently unexpected — both unflinchingly joyous and devastating.”
“Every scene is so elegantly composed yet bursting with vividly raw characters and performances,” the statement continued. “Joyland is one of the best films of the year, and against all odds of resources and marketing budgets, it’s been amazing to see festival juries, audiences, and critics shouting that from the rooftops.”
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