Joyland is a 2022 Pakistan drama by Saim Sadiq
Starring Rasti Farooq, Sarwat Gilani and Ali Junejo
As the happily patriarchal Rana family craves for the birth of a
baby boy, the youngest of the Rana men secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and finds himself falling for a fiercely ambitious trans starlet. Their impossible love story slowly illuminates the entire Rana family's...
Alina Khan, who
stars in Joyland, the first major Pakistani film to feature a trans actor in a lead role, said: I've been very sad. There's nothing against Islam and I don't understand how Islam can get endangered by mere films.
Joyland, which is Pakistan's contender at the Oscars, was set to go on national release, but was banned following pressure from hardline Islamic groups who called the film repugnant.
Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a senator in the
Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party, called Joyland cultural terrorism and criticised the government for the shameless act of allowing its release:
I condemn it and will use every legal step to stop Joyland's release.
Glamourising transgenders in Pakistan, as well as their love affairs, is a direct attack on our beliefs.
Cancelling the film's licence, which puts its Oscars' contention in doubt, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said:
Written complaints were received that the film contains highly objectionable material which do not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly repugnant to the norms of 'decency and
morality' as laid down in Section 9 of the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979.
Joyland has been hailed on the festival circuit. It was the first Pakistani film to be selected as an official entry at Cannes in May, winning two festival
awards and receiving a standing ovation in a packed Salle Debussy theatre.
Update: Unbanned after cuts
21st November 2022. See
article from easterneye.biz
Pakistani film Joyland has been unbanned by the censor
board of Pakistan after making several scenes were cut. The full censor board has allowed the local screening of Joyland. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a cabinet committee to look into the matter after some schools of thought had objected to
the movie.
Update: Re-banned in Punjab
30th November 2022. See article from
hrw.org
Less than 24 hours after the national government's decision to unban Joyland, the Punjab government blocked the film's release in the province. The Punjab Information and Culture Department explained that the Punjab government decided
to re-call Joyland in the wake of persistent complaints received from different quarters.
