Creative Artist Agenccy (CAA) – one of the most prominent talent and sports based agency of the United States – has signed Saim Sadiq, the director of Pakistan’s official entry for the 95th Academy Awards, Joyland, for representation.
An American media company, Variety, shared the news on its official website stating that this puts him in the company of A-list actors and industry legends such as Zendaya, Tom Hanks, Samuel L. Jackson, Pete Davidson, Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Murphy, Steven Spielberg, Allison Williams, and A$AP Rocky, among others.
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Sadiq was also named one of Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch” for 2023 in recognition of his film, Joyland.
The film marks Sadiq’s debut feature and made its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. It was awarded the Un Certain Regard jury prize and the Queer Palm, making it the first Pakistani film to debut at Cannes.
Following Cannes, Joyland screened at dozens of film festivals, including Sundance, and won numerous awards.
While talking about his film with Variety, Sadiq said that he was initially overwhelmed by the response to the film but is grateful for the recognition.
Joyland tells the story of Haider, a man who falls in love with Biba, a transgender woman who runs a Bollywood-style burlesque show.
The film has been nominated for Best International Film at the 2023 Independent Spirit Awards and is the first Pakistani film to be shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards.
Saim Sadiq is a graduate of the University of Lahore and holds an MFA in film directing from Columbia University.
He started his career with several critically acclaimed short films and won the Best Short Film award at the Venice Film Festival for Darling in 2019.
In addition to CAA, Sadiq is also managed by Modern Literary Arts.
