Director Saim Sadiq’s movie ‘Joyland’ has been banned in Pakistan. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has accused the film of having ‘extremely objectionable’ content. This Pakistani film was nominated from Pakistan for the ‘Best Foreign Film’ category at the 2023 Oscars. This movie is produced by Malala Yousafzai’s company ‘Extra Curricular’.
According to the report of the US entertainment magazine Variety, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said on November 11 that the country’s censor board had cleared the film on August 17, but they withdrew from that decision. According to the complaint, the movie contains “highly objectionable” scenes, which are inconsistent with the values and morals of Pakistani society. This is clearly against ‘decency and morality’ as enshrined in Section 9 of the Motion Pictures Ordinance of Pakistan.
‘Joyland’ is executive produced by Nobel Peace Laureate Malala Yousafzai. ‘Joyland’ is produced under the supervision of Malala’s production company ‘Extra Curricular’. Written and directed by Saeem Sadiq, the movie was slated to release in Pakistan on November 18.
The film stars Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, Sarwat Geelani, Sohail Sameer, Salman Peerzada and Sania Saeed.
The movie ‘Joyland’ is a story of breaking the traditions of Pakistan’s conservative society. It is built against the traditional conception of sexuality in a patriarchal society. The story revolves around a family whose patriarchal family members always wish for a son. While the youngest son of the family grows up to fall in love with a third gender, joins a dance group. As the story progresses, the social and traditional notions of sexuality are broken.