Filmmaker Saim Sadiq gets featured in Variety’s list of directors to watch for 2023

Award-winning film Joyland’s director Saim Sadiq got featured in Variety’s list of 10 directors to watch for 2023. The director made history with his directorial debut Joyland after the film won the Queer Palm and Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 75th Cannes Film Festival and also received an eight-minute standing ovation.

Read more: Haute Review: Joyland takes a closer look at complex human emotions without filter

According to Variety, this year’s list [features] 10 helmers with current and near-future projects set to launch their careers to the next level. The directors will be profiled in the first print edition of the new year, timed to an event in their honor at the Palm Springs Int’l Film Festival in early January. The lineup represents a diverse mix of up-and-coming directors whose films — all first or second narrative features — distinguished themselves earlier this year on the festival circuit or else are set to premiere in 2023.

The directors selected for this year’s list will be honored at a brunch event on Jan. 6 at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which resumes in-person screenings, panels and parties in early January, following two editions impacted by the COVID pandemic.