Pakistan Joyland get Oscar-qualifying run in France after country ban.
The historically conservative nation outlawed the Saim Sadiq-directed movie on the pretext of “morality,” which recounts the intricate love story of a man and a trans woman. Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel Prize winner, serves as a “executive director” of the Joyland Movies company, which deals with issues of patriarchy and gender identity.
The movie was actually given the green light by the censor board back in August after being chosen as Pakistan’s official entry for the Academy Awards, but due to opposition from religious hardliners, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting revoked its certification just a week before its scheduled release on November 18. Prior to a more conventional French release in December, it will now receive a qualifying run beginning on November 22 through its French distributor, Condor movies.
According to Academy regulations, a movie entered in the Best International Feature category must have a seven-day theatrical run in its country of origin by November 30 in order to be eligible for the Oscars. However, movies will also be taken into consideration if they finish the required run outside of their nation of origin. The Academy has the following policy with reference to this case:
The Academy will permit movies to qualify outside of their country of origin if they are theatrically exhibited outside of the United States and its territories for at least seven continuous days in a commercial motion picture theatre with paid admission. This will make it easier for movies to meet the requirements for theatrical exhibition. The International Feature movie Executive Committee will assess all eligibility and rule-related issues.
Director Sadiq, who is appealing the ban, described to the government body’s action as “unconstitutional” in a statement uploaded to Instagram. He declared:
As a Team:
“As a team, we are appalled by this situation, but we fully intend to speak out against this serious injustice. I am forced to state that the Pakistan Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s abrupt U-turn is both illegal and unconstitutional.
Joyland made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this year, making it the first PakistaniMovie to ever do so. It went on to win the renowned Jury Prize and the Queer Palm. It also had screenings at the Busan and Toronto movie festivals during a year that was exceptionally noteworthy for Pakistani filmmaking. The high-budget historical epic The Legend of Maula Jatt has been smashing box office records while Joyland has been winning praise on the festival circuit.
Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, Sarwat Gilani, Sohail Sameer, Salman Peerzada, and Sania Saeed are among the cast members of Joyland. You can view the movie’s trailer here; for more information, keep checking Collider.
