The government of Pakistan has overturned its ban on the widely criticized Oscar entry “Joyland,” which was a big hit at the Cannes Film Festival. On Friday, the movie was scheduled to be screened in some theatres in Pakistan. However, in the province of Punjab, the Information and Culture Department said it couldn’t be shown because people kept protesting about it.
Audiences, according to reviews, enjoyed the “unconventional” storyline. In this critically acclaimed film, the youngest son of an utterly patriarchal joint family falls in love with a transgender actress he meets at an underground erotica club, according to a summary found on the Cannes Film Festival’s official website.
The film’s certification was canceled in Pakistan last week after the ministry received written objections that it contained “very objectionable material.”
It premiered in May at the Cannes Film Festival, where it became the first Pakistani film to win the “Un Certain Regard Jury Prize and the unofficial Queer Palm”. The film was then presented as Pakistan’s official submission to the Academy Awards for best foreign-language feature picture. To be eligible for the Academy Awards, a film must have been in theatres for at least seven days prior to November 30.
Salman Sufi, a government adviser, tweeted on Wednesday that the video had been cleared by the censor board review committee after the requested changes were made, adding, “Freedom of speech is a basic right & should be fostered within ambits of the law.”
Thursday night, no official statement had been made by the filmmakers regarding the overturning of the nationwide ban or the subsequent ban in Punjab.
After protests from human rights groups and notable Pakistanis like Malala Yousafzai, who also serves as an executive producer on the film, the government reversed its statewide ban.
One of the film’s stars, Rasti Farooq, wrote on Instagram, I stand by my project as well as everything it represents, with every atom of my being. The film’s director, Sadiq, pleaded with authorities to reverse the ban.