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Written and directed by Saim Sadiq, \u201cJoyland\u201d made its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it was awarded the Un Certain Regard jury prize and the Queer Palm. The film has been nominated for best international film at the 2023 Independent Spirit Awards and was recently shortlisted for best international feature film at the 95th Academy Awards, as Pakistan\u2019s official entry.<\/p>\n
The film tells the story of Haider (Ali Junejo), who lives with his wife Mumtaz (Rasti Farooq), his father and his elder brother\u2019s family in Lahore, Pakistan. After a long spell of unemployment, Haider lands a job working as a background dancer at a Bollywood-style burlesque \u2014 though he tells his family he\u2019s the theater\u2019s manager \u2014 and falls in love with Biba (Alina Khan), a transgender woman who runs the show. Also starring in the project, which explores love and desire in a patriarchal society, are Sarwat Gilani, Sohail Sameer, Salmaan Peerzada and Sania Saeed.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2019Joyland\u2019 is ground-breaking. And it\u2019s easy to get lost in all the ways that it is; the first Pakistani film at Cannes, the first award-winner, the first to be Oscar-shortlisted, and a queer love story that has overcome multiple obstacles to its release,\u201d said Ahmed and Left Handed Films executive Allie Moore in a statement announcing the partnership. \u201cBut more important than any of the glass ceilings it smashes, is how this film so masterfully breaks our hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their statement continues: \u201cSaim Sadiq\u2019s filmmaking is both understated and gut-wrenching. His writing is consistently unexpected \u2014 both unflinchingly joyous and devastating. His every scene so elegantly composed yet bursting with vividly raw characters and performances. \u2018Joyland\u2019 is one of the best films of the year, and against all odds of resources and marketing budgets, it\u2019s been amazing to see festival juries, audiences, and critics shouting that from the rooftops.\u201d<\/p>\n
The partnership between Sadiq, Ahmed and Left Handed Films could prove particularly advantageous for the film, given the production company\u2019s strong, recent track record at the Academy Awards, nabbing three nominations in 2022 and its first Oscar win for \u201cThe Long Goodbye,\u201d the live-action short film Ahmed co-wrote and starred. The company also produced Jonas Poher Rasmussen\u2019s \u201cFlee,\u201d which made history as the first movie to earn nominations for best animated feature, documentary feature and international feature.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am excited that Riz and Left Handed Films will be joining \u2018Joyland\u2019 as EPs,\u201d added Sadiq. \u201cRiz and his production company have a track record of exquisite taste and having them on board further affirms our belief in both the urgency and universality of \u2018Joyland.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahmed joins a high-profile list of executive producers on the project, which also counts Malala Yousafzai, Ramin Bahrani, Jemima Khan, William Olsson, Jen Goyne Blake, Tiffany Boyle, Elsa Ramo, Oleg Dubson, Kathrin Lohmann, Hari Charana Prasad, Sukanya Puvvula and Owais Ahmed as executive producers.<\/p>\n
Following its Cannes debut, \u201cJoyland\u201d has screened at numerous festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival and AFI Fest, and will also screen at this year\u2019s Sundance Film Festival. Last week, it was announced that the film had picked up in the U.S. by Oscilloscope Laboratories (O-Scope) and is set for traditional theatrical release later this year. Studio Soho Distribution are releasing the film in the U.K. on Feb. 24.<\/p>\n
As Ahmed mentioned in his statement, though, the film\u2019s road to release has been a challenging one. In November, the Pakistan government banned the film for containing \u201chighly objectionable\u201d material.<\/p>\n
An order dated Nov. 11 from Pakistan\u2019s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting says that the country\u2019s censor board had granted a censor certificate to the film on Aug. 17, but it had since reversed the decision. Sadiq and the filmmakers spoke out against the decision, as well as Nobel laureate Yousafzai via an impassioned piece in Variety. The same week, Pakistan reversed the ban, granting the film a theatrical release with minor edits.<\/p>\n
View this article at Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Riz Ahmed\u2019s Left Handed Films Boards Pakistan Oscar Contender \u2018Joyland\u2019 as Executive Producer (EXCLUSIVE): Left Handed Films, the production company of Academy Award-winning producer and actor Riz Ahmed, has joined the Pakistani film \u201cJoyland\u201d as an executive producer. Written and directed by Saim Sadiq, \u201cJoyland\u201d made its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival,
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