Malala Yousufzai calls Joyland ‘A love letter to Pakistan’

Joyland has gone through multiple hells to be released in Pakistan. The film faced a ban after which #ReleaseJoyland was trending on Twitter. Several stars from Pakistani showbiz have come forward to defend the film. Malala Yousufzai, who was an executive producer for the film, has penned down a piece on what the film depicts on Variety.

In her exclusive piece for Variety, she wrote, ‘Joyland is not activism posing as art; it doesn’t argue for a particular point of view or issue a call to action.’ She further elaborated that the film shows compassion through each character. ‘The film treats each character with compassion, from the ageing grandfather imposing his will on his family to the young wife who wants more than the men around her are willing to give.’

Dissecting the film further, she wrote, ‘It’s a film about the ways in which patriarchy hurts everyone — men, women and children. It’s a film about the healing powers of female friendship and solidarity. It’s a film about the costs of ignoring our own dreams to conform to society around us.’

As she goes on about how film visualizes the realities people don’t often want to see, she also wrote, ‘Joyland is also a love letter to Pakistan, to its culture, food, fashion and, most of all, its people.’

Expressing her disappointment, she concludes, ‘How tragic that a film created by and for Pakistanis is now banned from our screens because of claims that it does not “represent our way of life” or “portrays a negative image of our country.’

Joyland will be out in theatres on November 18th, 2022. However, the film still stays banned in Punjab.