Pakistan lifts ban on official Oscar entry ‘Joyland’, film may release on November 18 as scheduled

Pakistan’s government has lifted the ban on filmmaker Saim Sadiq's critically-acclaimed film ‘Joyland’, which is Pakistan’s official entry for the upcoming 2023 Academy Awards. An eight-member review committee set up by the prime minister cleared the film after deleting some objectionable scenes in it, senior journalist Hafiz Tahir Khalil, who was part of the committee, told Dawn.

Salman Sufi, head of the Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms, also confirmed the news and tweeted that ‘Freedom of speech is a fundamental right and should be nourished within ambits of the law.’

‘Joyland’ met with protests causing the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to ban the film on the grounds that it ‘does not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly repugnant to the norms of decency and morality’.

Saim Sadiq's directorial narrates the story of a family's youngest son who secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for a transwoman. ‘Joyland’ stars Sania Saeed, Ali Junejo, Alina Khan, Sarwat Gilani, Rasti Farooq, Salmaan Peerzada and Sohail Sameer.

The film won the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize and the unofficial Queer Palm at Cannes in May this year. The film has been submitted to the 95th Academy Awards as Pakistan’s official entry for the international feature film award.

As per the Academy, ‘Joyland’ needs to be in cinemas for at least seven days before November 30 to remain a contender.

Muhammad Tahir Hassan, head of the Central Board of Film Censors, told AFP news agency that ‘there is no hindrance from the board for its screening. The distributors can screen the film from tomorrow morning if they wish.’

The film may now release in the country as slated on November 18.

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