After Joyland won the Queer Palme at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the acclaimed drama made history as the first Pakistani film to be shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards — and thanks to Sundance, it’s finally available to general American audiences.
Set in Lahore, Joyland follows a Pakistani family whose youngest son Haider (Ali Junejo) goes against his patriarchal father’s expectations when he secretly joins a dance theater and falls for trans performer Biba (Alina Khan). An intimate character study, Joyland sensitively explores the dangerous ripple effects that patriarchal constraints on sexual and bodily autonomy can have on surrounding communities — and the beauty that can be found in going against the grain.
KOKOMO CITY
Over the course of just over 70 minutes, Grammy-nominated trans producer-turned-director D. Smith presents a striking black-and-white portrait of Daniella Carter, Dominique Silver, Koko Da Doll, and Liyah Mitchell — four Black trans sex workers in New York and Georgia who participate in a series of mesmerizing, rollicking conversations soundtracked to perfection by Smith. A work of exuberant queer art that candidly unpacks the intersections of transphobia, sex work, and modern Black culture, KOKOMO CITY is an early contender for one of the best documentaries of the year.
L’Immensità
