Joyland Makes History By Becoming First Pakistani Film To Go In Oscar

Along with India's Last Film Show, Joyland is one of the 15 movies that were chosen for the best international feature film category.

Joyland may have experienced difficulties in its own country, but to the rest of the world, it was a hit right away. The movie is the first ever from Pakistan to be included on the Oscar shortlist.

The 95th Academy Awards shortlists for 10 categories were made public on Thursday. Joyland is one of the 15 movies that made it through to the nomination round for the best international motion picture award. In this category, movies from 92 different nations and regions were permitted. According to a news report, Last Film Show was also included on the list, making it India’s second contender since Lagaan 20 years ago.

Other movies in this category include Argentina’s Argentina, 1985, Austria’s Corsage, Belgium’s Close, Cambodia’s Return to Seoul, Denmark’s Holy Spider, France’s Saint-Omer, Germany’s All Quiet on the Western Front, Ireland’s The Quiet Girl, Mexico’s Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, Morocco’s The Blue Caftan, Poland’s EO, South Korea’s Decision to Leave and Sweden’s Cairo Conspiracy.

Malala, who just became an executive producer for team Joyland, called director Saim Sadiq to express her congratulations on the achievement and to share this “period of Pakistani glory” with him.

Producer of Joyland Apoorva Guru Charan re-shared the call footage and extolled the virtues of her “amazing” staff.

Joyland is the first Pakistani film to make the shortlist, ten years after the committee was established, according to filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, this year’s chair of the Pakistani Academy Selection Committee, who shared the “amazing” news on Instagram.

It’s interesting to note that this is not Joyland’s first. It was also the first Pakistani movie to screen at Cannes, where it gained accolades and was applauded standing ovation. Since then, it has participated in a number of international film festivals and gained notoriety everywhere.

Sadly, it had a difficult time getting released in Pakistan. It was deemed “uncertified” after being cleared by the censor board because it contained “extremely unpleasant material” that contravenes Pakistani society’s “social norms and moral standards.” The ban was lifted when PM Shehbaz Sharif appointed a committee to evaluate the decision following criticism from the media and the public. Despite the fact that the movie was released and received excellent reviews elsewhere, Punjab decided to reimpose the ban in the province.

Joyland, it has been a long and exhausting trip, but that is what people who are moving forward and accomplishing great things often experience.


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