Doors 7:00p
Program 7:30p

Join our friends from 犄角旮旯 Nooks & Crannies, for a night to celebrate Queer History Month, with Khajistan and DecrimNY! Showgirls of Pakistan follows three mujra dancers in Punjabi theater business and the fight to play by their own rules. The filmmakers Saad Khan (Director), Joey Chriqui (Art Director, Co-Editor) will be present for the night, who will share their creative journey, not only for this documentary, but creating Khajistan, a New York-based archive and press preserving censored, banned, and overlooked print and audiovisual culture from the Middle World. A selection of publications and merch will be available from Khajistan.

The event is also a fundraiser supporting DecrimNY to decriminalize, decarcerate and destigmatize the s*x trades in NY. Come through!

Program

Showgirls of Pakistan by Saad Khan

Pakistan / USA, 2020, 106 minutes

Enter the universe of three mujra dancers in Pakistan as they dodge state censors and violence to vie for stardom. Intimate vérité, phone calls, social media streams, and home videos provide a never-before-seen look into the underbelly of the Punjabi theater business and the women who fight to play by their own rules.

Program Duration: 106 mins

Bios

Saad Khan is a Pakistani filmmaker, writer, and archivist based in New York. He is the founder and director of Khajistan, an archive and publishing project dedicated to preserving censored, overlooked, and disappearing media from across the Middle World. His films include Showgirls of Pakistan (2020), Qandeel (2017), and Chuppan Chupai (2013). His work spans documentary film, archival research, publishing, and the preservation of vernacular print and media cultures.

Joey Chriqui is a New York-based creative director, designer, and artist whose work spans exhibition design, visual identity, publishing, and spatial installation. He served as art director and co-editor of Showgirls of Pakistan (2020) and is Creative Director of Khajistan, where he develops the project’s visual language across exhibitions, publications, installations, and archival projects. His practice draws on vernacular design, material culture, and the visual languages of the Middle East and North Africa.