‘Joyland’: Pakistan bans its own Best International Feature Oscar entry for ‘highly objectionable material’
Pakistan’s official submission for the Best International Feature Oscar has been banned in its native country. A document signed by the Deputy Director of the government’s Information & Broadcasting ministry ruled that Saim Sadiq’s “Joyland” contains “highly objectionable material which do [sic] not conform with [Pakistan’s] social values and moral standards.”
SEE 2023 Oscars: Best International Feature Predictions [UPDATED: October 31]
The Urdu-language domestic drama follows different members of a middle-class family in Lahore as they navigate generational divides and pressures to conform to the same “social values and moral standards” of which the film itself has apparently run afoul. The narrative’s central conflict is set in motion when the family’s youngest son falls in love with a transgender dancer. Based on 15 reviews, the film has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes approval rating.
Praising the filmmaking and morally complex screenplay, Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com called the movie a “bold and elegant statement,” while Namrata Joshi of India’s National Herald went further and declared it an achievement “not just for its director…but for Pakistani cinema at large.”
The country’s first film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, “Joyland” won the 2022 Queer Palm over “Close,” as well as the Un Certain Regard section’s 2022 Jury Prize over “The Blue Caftan” and “Corsage.” Because Academy rules state that films competing for International Feature must play theatrically in their country of origin for at least seven consecutive days, concern regarding the movie’s eligibility emerged online after news of the Pakistani government’s decision to censor it broke. The academy has never nominated a Pakistani film before. “Joyland” is still without US distribution but, given its newfound political implications, is sure to garner attention in the coming weeks.
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