Joyland’s journey may have ended for the Oscars after it failed to bag a nomination this year but the global praise still keeps coming. On Sunday, the Saim Sadiq directorial added another award to its long list of accolades at the 38th Independent Spirit Awards where the film won an award for Best International Film.
Executive producer Malala Yousafzai and director Sadiq took to social media to express their joy. The Nobel Prize Laureate took to Instagram and penned a note as she shares a carousel of pictures from the big night, which was attended by the main cast.
“So proud that our Joyland movie won Best International Film at the Spirit Awards! What an incredible moment for Pakistani artists, the film’s visionary writer and director Saim Sadiq, Alina Khan, Rasti Farooq and Apoorva.” Malala added, “I loved seeing so many old and new friends and celebrating their work. Congrats to all the nominees and winners.”
Sadiq, too, shared an Instagram post. Many Pakistani artists took to his announcement and congratulated Sadiq on the big feat. Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy, Arooj Aftab, Ali Gul Pir, and PR Mogul Frieha Altaf among others sent best wishes to the filmmaker.
As per Variety, the movie managed to beat four other nominations including Marie Kreutzer’s Corsage, Martika Ramirez Escobar’s Leonor Will Never Die, Davy Chou’s Return to Seoul and Alice Diop’s Saint-Omer.
Joyland tells the story of a man raised in a conservative patriarchal family who falls in love with a transgender dancer he met at an erotic dance theatre. The film stars Khan, Junejo, Farooq, Sarwat Gilani, Sania Saeed, Salman Peerzada and Sohail Sameer.
The film is the first Cannes entry award-winning film for Pakistan. It won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard section of the renowned film festival. After that, the film won many awards at international film festivals and was also shortlisted for the Oscars from Pakistan.
Joyland was “banned” by the Central Board of Film Censors in Pakistan a week before its release due to complaints surrounding its “immoral” content. After being re-reviewed by a committee formed by the prime minister, and it was given go-ahead to release. Punjab, albeit, did not allow it to be screened, despite it being cleared with minor cuts.
