Saim Sadiq ’19 to Receive Andrew Sarris Award at 2023 CUFF
The Columbia University Film Festival (CUFF) will present its annual Andrew Sarris Award to Pakistani filmmaker Saim Sadiq ’19. Sadiq will accept the award remotely at Screenwriting Night on Thursday, May 11, 2023.
The Sarris Award, named for world-renowned critic, theorist, and Film Program Professor Andrew Sarris, was created by film students to honor the outstanding artistic achievement of distinguished alumni. In addition to teaching at Columbia, Sarris worked extensively as a film critic and is the author of numerous books, including the landmark, American Cinema: Directors and Directions, 1929-1968 and many other influential works.
This year’s Sarris Award recipient, Sadiq wrote, directed, and produced Joyland, the stunning award-winning feature film that has been making waves since its premiere. The film took home the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard category of the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and recently secured a US distribution deal with Oscilloscope.
Joyland also features the work of several Columbia filmmakers, including Maggie Briggs ’19 (co-writer, alongside Sadiq), Apoorva Charan ’18 (producer), and Jasmin Tenucci ’20 (editor). Film alumna and Dean's Council member Katharina Otto-Bernstein ’92 ('86 CC), whose mentorship program has set up many Film alumni for success, also serves as a producer on the film, after Sadiq's previous short film Darling was a recipient of the Katharina Otto-Bernstein Grant. Associate Professor Ramin Bahrani (CC ’96) serves as Executive Producer and Mona Maahn ’22 as Associate Producer. The creative team behind the film also includes Rob Bellon ’19, Esteban Garcia Vernaza ’20, Bane Fakih ’19, Mark Sean Haynes ’17, and Kaiser Wahab (Law ’99).
Sadiq’s previous short film, Darling, also received great critical acclaim, including winning the Special Jury Recognition Prize at the 2020 South by Southwest Film Festival as well as the Orizzonti Award for Best Short Film at the 76th Annual Venice International Film Festival. Directed and co-written by Sadiq, the short was co-written by Rodney Llaverias ’20, co-produced by Tenucci, and produced by Mahak Jiwani ’18.
The annual Andrew Sarris Award winner is selected by current School of the Arts Film Program students. Past recipients include Deborah Chow ’03 (The High Cost of Living, Obi-Wan Kenobi, The Mandelorian), Cherien Dabis ’04 (Amreeka, May in the Summer), Phil Johnston ’04 (Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph), Laura Ricciardi ’07 and Moira Demos ’08 (Making a Murderer), Benjamin Odell '04 (How to be a Latin Lover, Overboard), Kathryn Bigelow ’81 (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty), James Ponsoldt ’05 (Smashed, The Spectacular Now), Jennifer Lee ’05 (Frozen, A Wrinkle in Time), James Mangold ’99 (Logan, Walk the Line), Kimberly Peirce ’96 (Carrie, Boys Don’t Cry), Simon Kinberg ’03 (Logan, Deadpool), Lisa Cholodenko ’97 (Olive Kitteridge,The Kids Are All Right), Albert Berger ’83 (Nebraska, Little Miss Sunshine), Nicole Holofcener ’88 (Enough Said, Please Give), Malia Scotch Marmo ’88 (Rafina, Madeline, Hook, Once Around), Greg Mottola ’91 (Superbad), Sabrina Dhawan ’02 (Monsoon Wedding), Adam Davidson ’91 (The Lunch Date, Six Feet Under, Lost, Community), and Shari Springer Berman ’95 and Robert Pulcini ’94 (American Splendor).
Saim Sadiq is a Pakistani filmmaker with an undergraduate degree in Anthropology and a graduate degree in Film Directing from Columbia University. His first feature, Joyland, became Pakistan's official submission to the 95th Academy Awards, and was eventually shortlisted for Best Foreign Feature. His short films (Darling, Nice Talking to You) placed at festivals such as the Venice Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Palm Springs International Shortsfest, and South by Southwest.
The 2023 Columbia University Film Festival (CUFF) will take place May 11-15, 2023. CUFF will host in-person screenings and events in New York City, in addition to select virtual screenings. Visit the CUFF website for up-to-date information and additional events, as well as a full list of festival films, synopses, filmmaker bios, and ticket information.