Joyland: Pakistani queer love film censored, partially unbanned

Saim Sadiq's debut feature 'Joyland', winner of the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes 2022 and Pakistan's Oscar entry for Best International Feature, faced censorship in its home country. The film follows a conservative Lahore family pressuring son Haider to work, forcing his wife Mumtaz to quit her job. Haider falls for Biba, a transgender dancer, leading to tragedy. Pakistani fundamentalists called the film 'repugnant'; after international outcry, the government allowed screenings only after cutting a kiss between Haider and Biba. The film remains banned in Lahore and Punjab. Executive producer Malala Yousafzai supported the project. Sadiq described the government's stance as 'bipolar': nominating the film for Oscars while denying 30 million people access. The director noted similar transphobia in the US, attributing it to fear of challenging the patriarchal binary system.