In May 2022,
Joyland
became the first Pakistani film ever selected at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won two awards (Jury Prize Un Certain Regard and Queer Palm).
A source of pride for a country with a film industry that is still young and emerging.
But movies aren't glossy brochures for touting a destination to tourists.
Saim Sadiq's first feature film was banned in his own country, five days before its release, under pressure from Islamist groups and the conservative wing of the Senate.
Without a theatrical distribution, the film's qualification for the Oscars was threatened.
Faced with the outcry caused by this decision, the Pakistani authorities finally authorized the film to be released in two districts out of three (those of Karachi and Islamabad, but not that of Lahore,
where the film was shot), in a censored version.
And
Joyland will
represent Pakistan well at the Oscar for best international film
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