Joyland’s trip to the Oscars may have come to an end after it was not nominated this year, but the international acclaim is still pouring in. Adding to its long list of honors, the Saim Sadiq-directed picture received an award for Best International Film at the 38th Independent Spirit Awards on Sunday.
The film that explores transgender issues in Pakistan outlasted four other nominations in the award category, 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.
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.
“They did send us an email saying you should prepare a speech and I archived it and I didn’t take it seriously at all and now I’m ashamed because I have so many things to say and so many people to thank and I’m just scared that I’ll forget someone,” said Sadiq in his speech.
It is worth mentioning that Joyland was made available everywhere but was afterwards removed due to “extremely objectionable material” by Pakistan’s censor board. After modest modifications and censor board permission, the movie was released across the country in the wake of fierce backlash against the limitation and strong support for it.
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.
