‘Joyland’ director Saim Sadiq wins Baumi Script Award for new film ‘Little Men’

The photograph posted on May 22, 2025, by Baumi Script Development Award, shows Pakistani film director Saim Sadiq, receives “Baumi Script Development Award” from German-Swiss filmmaker Edward Berger, at the Cannes Film Festival, in Cannes, France. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/@baumiaward/Film- und Medienstiftung NRW / Hubert Bösel)
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Updated 27 May 2025
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‘Joyland’ director Saim Sadiq wins Baumi Script Award for new film ‘Little Men’

  • The Baumi Award is a €20,000 annual prize honoring producer Karl “Baumi” Baumgartner
  • Little Men follows a Pakistani-American who marries his ex-lover to help her flee Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani director Saim Sadiq has won the prestigious Baumi Script Development Award for “Little Men” and received a €20,000 prize to support the project’s development, the organizers announced over the weekend.

The Baumi Script Development Award is an annual prize established in 2016 to honor the legacy of Karl “Baumi” Baumgartner, a renowned film producer and distributor known for his passion for independent world cinema.

Little Men is an upcoming film project by Sadiq, who is best known for his acclaimed debut feature Joyland, which received international recognition and critical praise.

“10 years of the Baumi Script Development Award! To mark the anniversary, the €20,000 prize goes to filmmaker Saim Sadiq from Pakistan for his treatment ‘Little Men,’” the Baumi Script Development Award said in a Facebook post last week.

The film follows Nael, a Pakistani-American man living in New York City, who offers to marry his former lover from Pakistan to help her escape their crisis-stricken homeland.

As he enters into the fraudulent marriage, Nael confronts the complexities of love, loyalty and identity as he navigates the challenges of belonging to two lovers and two worlds.

On the occasion, Sadiq expressed his gratitude to the German film distribution company Pandora Film Verleih and to Film- und Medienstiftung North Rhine-Westphalia for bringing him back to Cannes.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Saim Sadiq (@saim.sadiq)

“Big thank you Pandora Film Verleih and Film- und Medienstiftung NRW for bringing me back to Cannes and for the Baumi Award and to Edward Berger for heading the jury and for being so gracious, kind and real,” Sadiq said in a post on Instagram.

Sadiq is a Pakistani screenwriter and director who gained international recognition with Joyland, which won the Jury Prize in the ‘Un Certain Regard’ section at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

Sadiq studied anthropology at Lahore University and earned his Master of Fine Arts degree from Columbia University in New York City.

 


Pakistan rejects Amnesty claims of Israeli spyware use, calls reports ‘disinformation’

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Pakistan rejects Amnesty claims of Israeli spyware use, calls reports ‘disinformation’

  • FO denies any link with Israel, says Pakistan has “absolutely no cooperation” on surveillance tools
  • Islamabad accuses India of delaying clearance for relief aircraft bound for flood-hit Sri Lanka

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday rejected an Amnesty International report alleging the use of Israeli-made invasive spyware in the country, calling the findings speculative and misleading.

Amnesty’s investigation, published Thursday under the title Intellexa Leaks, cited the case of a Pakistan-based human rights lawyer who reported receiving a suspicious WhatsApp link in 2025. According to Amnesty International’s Security Lab, the link bore signatures consistent with Predator, a spyware product developed by Israeli manufacturer c

Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi dismissed the suggestion that Islamabad had deployed the tool or maintained any technological cooperation with Israel.

“These are all media speculations. These are all rumor-mongering and disinformation. There is absolutely no cooperation between Pakistan and Israel on anything, let alone a spyware or these kinds of tools. So, I would reject it quite emphatically,” he said at a weekly briefing.

Andrabi also accused India of obstructing humanitarian operations, saying New Delhi delayed flight clearance for a Pakistani relief aircraft carrying aid to flood-affected Sri Lanka.

“The special aircraft carrying Pakistan’s relief goods had to wait for 48 hours, in fact more than 48 hours, around 60 hours, while the flight clearance from India was delayed,” he said.

He added that the eventual conditional flight window was too narrow to be workable.

“The partial flight clearance which eventually was given after 48 hours was operationally impractical, time-bound just for a few hours and hence not operable, severely hindering the urgent need for the relief mission for the brotherly people of Sri Lanka,” Andrabi stated.

“Humanitarian assistance is like justice, if it is delayed, it is denied.”

Responding to India’s claim that clearance was granted within four hours, he said Pakistan has documentary proof contradicting New Delhi’s version.

On a separate question about reported delays in the arrival of a Turkish delegation aimed at mediating between Islamabad and Kabul, Andrabi said Pakistan welcomed Ankara’s initiative but was unaware of the cause of postponement.

“We stand ready to receive the Turkish delegation. That delegation has not arrived as yet. And I’m not aware of any schedule. Pakistan is ready to hold negotiations, discussions,” he said, adding that the delay may be linked to coordination with the Afghan side.