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Which TV & Film Star Started Social Media Campaign Against #Joyland - Film Got Banned

#Joyland #ReleaseJoyland #JoylandFilm

Waqas Habib Rana, Ali Warsi, Faiza Irfan and Umar Saeed discuss the ban imposed by Federal Information and Broadcasting Ministry on the movie Joyland.

The Pakistan government has banned the film that will be its Oscars contender after pressure from hardline Islamic groups who called its depiction of a love affair between a man and a trans woman “repugnant” and “highly objectionable”.

Joyland, directed by #SaimSadiq, had been submitted as Pakistan’s official entry for best international feature film at the Oscars and was due for domestic release this week.

The film tells the story of Haider, a young married man from a middle-class family in Lahore, who joins an erotic dance theatre and falls in love with Biba, a transgender performer.

The film garnered glowing praise on the festival circuit for its tender and critical depiction of Pakistan’s patriarchal society. It was the first Pakistani feature to be an official selection at the Cannes film festival, where it was awarded the prestigious jury prize.

#MalalaYousafzai, the Pakistani Nobel prize-winner who joined the project as an executive director, hailed it as “such a moment of joy … The themes that are touched upon in this movie resonate with people all around the world.”

The Pakistan government’s censor board had given Joyland the green light. Still, it backtracked after a campaign began against the film, led by the country’s religious hardliners and powerful Islamic rightwing parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed Khan, from the Islamic movement Jamaat-e-Islam, had accused the film of promoting homosexuality, which remains illegal in Pakistan, and being “against Pakistani values”.

In an order given by the country’s ministry of information and broadcasting over the weekend, it said it had received written complaints about Joyland, alleging that the film did not “conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly repugnant to the norms of decency and morality”.

Joyland has now been uncertified for all Pakistan cinemas, meaning its release is banned. The ban jeopardizes the film’s chance at the Oscars as it is a condition of entry that the film must be shown in its home country.

In a statement, Sadiq called the ban a “grave injustice” and said he would be challenging the decision.

“This sudden u-turn by the Pakistan ministry of information and broadcasting is absolutely unconstitutional and illegal,” said Sadiq, accusing the ministry of caving to “pressure from a few extremist factions”.

#SarwatGilani, an actor in the film, spoke out against what she alleged was a paid smear campaign by “some malicious people who have not even seen the film”.