“It felt like the hard work that people do, the struggles that we face as artists in Pakistan, they’ve all come to be worth it,” Gilani told Reuters yesterday.

Film and television star Gilani plays Nucchi in “Joyland”, which competes in the Un Certain Regard section, a competition focused on more arthouse films that runs parallel to the main Palme d’Or prize.

Nucchi belongs to a household that has long hoped for the birth of a son to continue the family line, with the consecutive birth of her three daughters not enough to please her conservative father-in-law.

Meanwhile, her brother-in-law Haider secretly falls in love with a transgender woman Biba, who fights for her right to work as a performer.

“Joyland” also explores the frustration of women seeking to pursue a profession, when Haider’s wife Mumtaz falls into a depression for being forced to stay at home to do household chores and stop working as a makeup artist.

“It’s not just about a love story anymore. It’s about real-time issues, real-life issues that we all go through,” Gilani said.

“Having a woman, a trans, represent that sector of the society, I think it’s a really good step in the direction where we can say we can write progressive stories.”

Gilani said she hoped Pakistani moviegoers and critics would give “Joyland” as warm a reception as it received in Cannes.

“I’m very positive that at least our people will understand this is also a kind of cinema that can be successful. If worldwide, then why not locally, nationally?” she said.