Tickets to the eleventh feature film in our 2025 program are available here.

جوائے لینڈ (Joyland, Pakistan, 2022) directed by Saim Sadiq.

Joyland is a groundbreaking Pakistani film that explores queer desire, repression, and the weight of tradition within a conservative family. Centering a tender relationship between a married man and a trans dancer, the film challenges rigid gender roles and expectations. With quiet intensity, Joyland paints a powerful portrait of longing, identity, and defiance.

Joyland is presented in collaboration with Leftovers Archive, a growing multidisciplinary arts platform curated by Aleena Rizvi. Aleena is a Pakistani-Australian filmmaker and curator based on Wallumdegal and Gadigal land. Through Leftovers Archive, Aleena creates a living, breathing space for collective reflection. She asks: what do we salvage and pass on? What does it mean to remember, to resist, and to rebuild through art?

Rooted in the themes of resilience, memory, and cultural resistance, @leftoversarchive brings together artists, filmmakers, musicians, and culinary storytellers to explore how culture endures in the face of loss, displacement, and transformation.

What began earlier this year as a one-night exhibition, it has since evolved into an ongoing curatorial project—an ever-expanding archive of diasporic expression. Through immersive events that combine visual art, film screenings, live music, and communal meals, Leftovers Archive honours the fragments we carry: the languages, rituals, recipes, and rhythms that survive migration, colonialism, and generational change.

Showing before Joyland, will be the documentary short film, Khandaan (2023). Khandaan delves into the Khan family, whose roots trace back to the 1880s during the era of Afghan cameleers and offers a close and personal exploration of their journey which spans six generations in Australia.

Joyland will be shown in Punjabi and Urdu with English subtitles.

For this screening, Miya Miya Film Club and Leftovers Archive will be donating to Pakistani charity, Blue Veins, who were instrumental in implementation of the Transgender Person’s Protection of Rights Act 2018 in Pakistan and are working at improving physical and mental health services for the transgender community in the Khyber Pakhtunkwa region of Pakistan.

Included in your ticket on the night is a hot Pakistani dinner, alongside non-alcoholic drinks from Gaza Cola and Salaam Cola Australia.

Miya Miya prides itself on being a hub of safety, inclusivity, and community. Our events are a safe and inclusive space for all peoples, including our SWANA, First Nations, Black, POC, Jewish, and LGBTQIASB+ friends, and we have zero tolerance for harassment of any kind.

No one turned away for lack of funds. Please contact the @miyamiyafilmclub instagram page for ticketing enquiries.