LAHORE: Pakistani filmmaker Saim Sadiq said his film about love between a transgender girl and a young boy, which won the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film at the 76th Venice Film Festival last week, was “a protest about what we can and cannot talk about in Pakistan.”
In an exclusive interview with Arab News, Sadiq, who wrote and directed the short film called ‘Darling,’ spoke about the need to break taboos and to celebrate less-talked about subcultures in the Muslim majority country of 208 million people.
“I was inspired to make Darling as a protest about what we can and cannot talk about in Pakistan. However, I didn’t want to portray it in a depressing and tragic way... rather (in) a celebratory way. I wanted to set it in the subculture of the mujra dance world that is extremely vibrant and also a culture that we don’t own or talk about,” he said, referring to a particular South Asian dance format for women.
“I wanted to do a film that talked about sexuality in Pakistan because it’s something we don’t speak about in films, books or television,” he said.
On the impact his film might go on to have on the future of Pakistani cinema, the young film-maker said he hoped his international success would spark more originality and less replication, for an industry he said was undergoing its “rebirth.”
“I hope this film allows people to redefine what you can make as a Pakistani film and it doesn’t necessarily have to be a commercial ‘masala’ film,” he said.
“We’re at a stage in the industry where its rebirth is happening and we don’t have to replicate the films of Hollywood, Bollywood or Iran. We can be more specific to our culture and our cinematic language. I also hope the visibility from Darling can land more work for Alina and hopefully other trans actors who want to work in the entertainment industry but don’t find a space where they feel welcome,” he said.
The film’s stars are Abdullah Malik and Alina Khan. Khan, who is a transgender girl off-camera as well, made her acting debut in the award-winning film and was selected despite stiff competition.
“Casting for “Darling” was not an easy task,” Sana Jafri, casting and assistant director for the film, told Arab News. 
“We wanted to stay true to the essence of the film, set in a stage theater in Lahore. It’s tougher to find and work with non-actors, but we went through that route as these new and raw actors bring a certain level of authenticity, honesty, and nuance on-screen,” she said. 
Jafri has worked with the transgender community in the eastern city of Lahore for the last three years and was also nominated for a prestigious national award for her music video, “Madam,” which highlighted the everyday lives of transgender persons in Pakistan. Jafri met Khan through her various projects in the community and they quickly became friends. 
When the Darling team struggled to find the right fit for the character of the lead female role despite scores of auditions, Jafri set up a meeting between Sadiq and Khan.
“It was not an audition that we went for, but just to get to know a transgender dancer and her life. Since we were at her place, she was more comfortable and opened up more and when Saim saw her dance, lost in her own world, we shared a glance and knew... she is our darling,” Jafri said.
After years of brutal persecution, transgender Pakistanis gained recognition in 2009 when the Supreme Court granted them special status with rights equal to other citizens and ruled they could receive national identity cards as a “third sex.”
Through the making of the film, Jafri and Sadiq said they took cues from Khan to more authentically tailor the role to her real-life experiences.
Darling is set to screen next at the Toronto International Film Festival which runs until September 15 this year.