What Joyland achieved ‘unprecedented,’ producer says as film misses Oscar nominations

KARACHI: After missing the nomination in the International Feature Film category for the 95th Academy Awards, the makers of Joyland promised to follow the “unprecedented” success of the film on Wednesday by coming up with more creative productions to dominate the global entertainment industry.
Joyland won the Cannes “Queer Palm” prize for best feminist-themed movie last year as well as the Jury Prize in the “Un Certain Regard” competition, a segment focusing on young, innovative cinema talent. It also made it to the ongoing Sundance Film Festival 2023 in the United States.
Last month, the Pakistani film also featured in the list of 15 outstanding international productions that advanced to the final nomination stage ahead of the award ceremony scheduled to take place in March. However, it could not make the cut in the list of final five.
“What Joyland has been able to achieve so far is unprecedented and gives us hope for many more films to come out of Pakistan and take the global stage,” the film’s co-producer and casting director Sana Jafri told Arab News. “Being selected in the top 15 films out of over a hundred films at the Academy Awards is a testimony of the talent and hard work that went into creating the film and shows the potential of the creatives in Pakistan, especially keeping in mind the limited resources and support we have.”
Despite receiving critical acclaim abroad, Joyland has had a tough run in Pakistan that banned its screening at movie theaters last November by reversing a previous all-clear for release order. The film, which celebrates “transgender culture” in Pakistan, was later allowed to be released in some parts of the country, though it remains banned in the most populous Punjab province.
“While we are still fighting a legal battle to get the film released in Punjab for over two months, every day our inbox is filled with messages of people asking us about the release and it is heartbreaking to know that our own people have been deprived of what is theirs,” Jafri continued.
She added Pakistan had seldom celebrated its own creatives and hoped to witness a change soon.
The Joyland producer maintained there were many important voices and stories in the country that needed to be heard while pointing out that everyone should have the freedom to talk about what is important to them.
“We, as a nation, need to stop policing artists,” Jafri said. “This isn’t something new for us. We did this to [the 18th century Punjabi poet] Bulleh Shah and [Urdu short story writer] Saadat Hassan Manto. I hope we learn our lesson before it is too late.”
Joyland stars an ensemble cast including Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, Sarwat Gilani, Sania Saeed, Sohail Sameer and Salman Peer.
Reacting to the film missing the final nomination for the Oscars, veteran Pakistani actress Sania Saeed said: “It didn’t make it, it didn’t make it. It has come this far and is still going strong despite everything. Also, a first to have been shown and won so many awards around the world at the most prestigious festivals, made some money too. We all worked so hard. We had so much fun working on it and with each other. I am so grateful.”