Sarmad Khoosat's Lali wins Best Director at 15th DC South Asian Film Festival

Sarmad Khoosat has won Best Director at the 15th DC South Asian Film Festival (DCSAFF) for Lali, his Punjabi-language drama. It is his second Best Director award at the same festival: he won in 2023 for Kamli.

The award and the festival

DCSAFF announced its 2026 winners on Instagram under the edition's theme, "Bridging Cultures Through Films". Alongside Khoosat's award:

• Best Feature Film: Boong
• Best Short Film: Hills Don't Dance Alone
• Best Actress: Kritika Kamra, for The Great Shamsuddin Family

The festival, run by the DC South Asian Arts Council, held its in-person screenings from 11 to 13 September at Regal Rockville Center in Rockville, Maryland, near Washington DC. Lali was the closing-night film. A virtual edition runs from 14 to 30 September.

Khoosat thanked the organisers on Instagram for "bringing our stories to America for the last 15 years".

About the film

Lali is set in the poorer neighbourhoods of Sahiwal. Zeba (Mamya Shajaffar) is branded a "cursed bride" after three men who were to marry her died in mysterious circumstances. She is then married off to Sajawal (Channan Hanif).

Khoosat co-wrote it with Sundus Hashmi. The cast includes Rasti Farooq (Joyland), Meher Bano (Churails) and Farazeh Syed. Joyland director Saim Sadiq edited the film, which runs 116 minutes.

A year on the festival circuit

• February: world premiere at the 76th Berlin International Film Festival, the first fully Pakistani-produced feature to screen at the Berlinale.
• April: honourable mention from the feature jury at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.
• September: Best Director at DCSAFF.
• Next: opening-night gala at the Mississauga International South Asian Film Festival in Canada, then the 70th BFI London Film Festival (7 to 18 October), where it screens on opening day in the "Laugh" strand.

Can you watch it in Pakistan?

Not yet. No Pakistani cinema release date has been announced. In April, Scroll reported that the film was "aiming for a release in Pakistan in the coming months", and Khoosat said he hoped for a smooth journey despite its bold take on marriage.

That hope has some history behind it. Khoosat's 2019 film Zindagi Tamasha was repeatedly delayed by censorship concerns and protests, banned in Sindh, and eventually released on YouTube and Vimeo in August 2023.

What happens next

Viewers in Lahore, Karachi or Islamabad will have to wait for a local release announcement and censor clearance. Pakistanis in the UK can catch it at the London festival in October. For more film news, see our entertainment section.