Pakistani films Joker and Darling win awards at Venice film festival

Pakistani short film ‘Darling’ has won an award at the Venice Film Festival. Directed by Saim Sadiq ‘Darling’ was selected as the Best Short Film, international media reported.

‘Darling’ premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in its new Orizzonti section, making it Pakistan’s first short movie that enthralled the oldest movie gala’s audience.

The role of Alina in ‘Darling’ is played by Alina Khan, a real transgirl actor from Lahore who makes her acting debut in the film. Last year another short film by Sadiq: ‘Nice Talking To You’ had won the Best Director Award at the Columbia University Film Festival.

Todd Phillips’ dark supervillain origin story “Joker” has come up trumps at the Venice Film Festival, taking the Golden Lion from a jury headed by Argentine auteur Lucrecia Martel. Controversial veteran Roman Polanski, meanwhile, took the runner-up Grand Jury Prize for his film “An Officer and a Spy,” capping a festival marked by debate over gender representation and the impact of #MeToo in the industry.