Pakistani short film ‘Darling’ won the Orizzonti Award for the best short film at the Venice Film Festival.

Directed by Saim Sadiq, Darling tells the story of a young boy and a transgender girl.

The film features upcoming actress Mehar Bano, Abdullah Malik, and Nadia Afgan (Suno Chanda and Shaslik).

Not only that, the role of Alina in Darling is played by Alina Khan, a real transgender actor from Lahore for whom the film marks as her acting debut.

The short film’s co-producers include and Fahad Nabi and Jasmin Tennuci, with Mo Azmi who produced and shot Cake and Laal Kabootar — the director of photography.

Sadiq’s previous short film, Nice Talking to You, was an official selection at South by Southwest 2019, Palm Springs International Shorts fest 2019, and won Vimeo’s Best Director award at Columbia University Film Festival 2018.