Joyland Movie Details:
| Country | Pakistan |
| Language | Punjabi Urdu |
| Genre | Drama |
| Release date | 23 May 2022 (Cannes) 18 November 2022 (Pakistan) |
| Running time | 2hr 7min |
| Starring | Ali Junejo Rasti Farooq Alina Khan |
| Directed by | Saim Sadiq |
| Written by | Saim Sadiq Maggie Briggs |
| Produced by | Apoorva Guru Charan Sarmad Sultan Khoosat Sabiha Sumar Lauren Mann |
| Cinematography by | Joe Saade |
| Edited by | Saim Sadiq Jasmin Tenucci |
| Music by | Abdullah Siddiqui |
| Production Company | All Caps Khoosat Films Diversity Hire Ltd. One Two Twenty Entertainment Blood Moon Creative NNB Digital Media Film Manufacturers Inc. Astrakan AB Noruz Films Vidhi Films |
| Distributor | Film Constellation |
Joyland Movie Cast & Characters:
- Ali Junejo as Haider
- Rasti Farooq as Mumtaz
- Alina Khan as Biba
- Sarwat Gilani as Nucchi
- Salmaan Peerzada as Rana Amanullah
- Sohail Sameer as Saleem
- Sania Saeed as Fayyaz
Storyline:
Set in inner-city Lahore, Joyland centers around the low-income Rana family, headed by an elder patriarch (Peerzada) who yearns for the birth of a grandson. He forces his daughter-in-law Mumtaz (Farooq) to quit her job after Haider (Junejo), his youngest son and her husband, finds work at an erotic dance theater. However, complications arise when Haider becomes infatuated with Biba (Khan), a transgender dancer.
Joyland Movie Box Office Collection & Budget:
| Worldwide Collection | $1.2 million |
About Joyland Movie:
Joyland (جوائے لینڈ) is a Pakistani drama film written, directed, and co-edited by Saim Sadiq in his feature directorial debut.
Joyland had its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival on 23 May 2022, becoming the first Pakistani film to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. It screened in the Un Certain Regard section, where it competed for the Caméra d’Or. The film received a standing ovation after its screening and won the festival’s Jury Prize, as well as the Queer Palm prize for best LGBTQ-themed film.
Joyland had its world premiere at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section on 23 May 2022. Film Constellation, a U.K. and France-based sales firm, has taken up the international rights for the film, which will be shared with WME Independent for representation in North America. French rights of the film were acquired by Condor.
The film was invited at 2022 Toronto International Film Festival in the “Special Presentations” section and was screened on 8 September 2022. It was also selected as part of the 27th Busan International Film Festival’s “A Window on Asian Cinema” section, screening on 6 October 2022. Later in December, it was invited to the 28th Kolkata International Film Festival and was screened on 18 December 2022. In the same month, it was also invited to “Spotlight” section of 2023 Sundance Film Festival, held from 19 to 29 January 2023.
Joyland did not screen at the International Film Festival of Kerala, one of India’s most respected film festivals. In a report for Firstpost, journalist Anna M. M. Vetticad revealed that the film was rejected by the artistic director of the festival, Deepika Suseelan, who said: “There are so many films dealing with the same , particularly transgender if we take out, you know there is lesbian, gay, different segments … For me personally, I liked Paloma more, and for me, Joyland was taking too much time.” Vetticad wrote: “It is inexcusable … for an individual in such a critical position to consider their personal opinion reason enough to reject such a film despite its cultural and socio-political significance; to be unaware of that significance and equally unaware of audience interest in it despite the crowds it has drawn at festivals across the world.”
Joyland was scheduled to be released in Pakistan on 18 November 2022. Despite the censor board having granted the film a censor certificate in August, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information & Broadcasting was announced to have banned the film’s domestic release in November, citing Pakistan’s Motion Picture Ordinance of 1979 and written complaints about the film. Additionally, Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan of the Jamaat-e-Islami political party accused the film of being “against Pakistani values”, stating that, “Glamourising transgenders in Pakistan, as well as their love affairs, is a direct attack on our beliefs.”The ban was met with harsh criticism, with the hashtag #ReleaseJoyland making rounds on social media. In an Instagram post, director Saim Sadiq wrote that he and his team were “gutted” by the ban and said it was, “absolutely unconstitutional and illegal. Alina Khan, the actress playing the protagonist of the film, said, “There’s nothing against Islam and I don’t understand how Islam can get endangered by mere films.” In a written defense published in Variety, Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who is also an executive producer of the film, stated:
Joyland is not activism posing as art; it doesn’t argue for a particular point of view or issue a call to action. The film treats each character with compassion, from the ageing grandfather imposing his will on his family to the young wife who wants more than the men around her are willing to give. It’s a film about the ways in which patriarchy hurts everyone — men, women and children. It’s a film about the healing powers of female friendship and solidarity. It’s a film about the costs of ignoring our own dreams to conform to society around us. Joyland is also a love letter to Pakistan, to its culture, food, fashion and, most of all, its people. How tragic that a film created by and for Pakistanis is now banned from our screens because of claims that it does not “represent our way of life” or “portrays a negative image of our country.” The opposite is true — the film reflects reality for millions of ordinary Pakistanis, people who yearn for freedom and fulfilment, people who create moments of joy every day for those they love.
On 16 November 2022, an aide to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told Associated Press that a committee formed to evaluate the film approved its release with minor cuts. The film premiered in Pakistan on its planned release date of 18 November, although several “objectionable erotic” scenes were subjected to censorship.
Joyland remains banned in the Punjab province.
