Twitter protests Pakistan’s ‘social hypocrisy’ amidst ban on film ‘Joyland’. The film had received widespread acclaim from all over the globe, winning awards at Cannes, the Asia Pacific Screen Awards’ aswell as entering the Oscars’. However, days ahead of its release in its own home country Pakistan, filmmaker Saim Sadiq received a letter from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting declaring a countrywide ban on ‘Joyland’.
The decision was followed by Twitter outrage as the film had previously gotten clearance from all censor boards, but the ban came after “written complaints” from people who claimed the film features indecent and immoral content, without even having seen the film.
Saim Sadiq, the director of “Joyland,” and the team behind the film, are raising their voices against the ban imposed by the government. Terming the ban a “grave injustice,” Sadiq, in an Instagram post, says that the ban is “absolutely unconstitutional and illegal” and has urged the country’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to review the decision.
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Pop Quiz: One movie is approved by our esteemed censor board and one is banned. Guess which is which. #ReleaseJoyland pic.twitter.com/g1gYIPdGU1
— Anny Marri (@Anny_Marri) November 14, 2022
I wanna watch the film which has received a standing ovation at every film festival in World! We deserve good stories & good cinema #ReleaseJoyland pic.twitter.com/QLvmUk5uN5
— Aan Cheema (@aanasifcheema) November 12, 2022
Just found out that Joyland isn’t being released in Pakistan—a film that has been winning high praise from international audiences. Our decision makers are still treating Pakistani audiences like children, depriving us of art & culture under the guise of morality. #ReleaseJoyland pic.twitter.com/XYul2M2qth
— Nida Kirmani (@NidaKirmani) November 13, 2022
