'Joyland' wins Best International Film award

The globally acclaimed and multiple award-winning Pakistani film Joyland added another feather to its cap after it won the "Best International Film" award at 2023 Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday, Variety reported. 

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.

The film, directed by Saim Sadiq, highlights the issues of the underprivileged transgender community in Pakistan. The movie starred a trans woman in the lead role for the first time in the country.

The film is strictly focused on the lives of transgender people, building an unbiased narrative of their struggles. It received appreciation and praise from all over the world. 

Joyland has won multiple awards and made history by winning the most coveted jury prize in the “Un Certain Regard” competition, a category that reportedly focused on artistically daring movies, at the 75th Cannes Film Festival in France last year. 

It was the first-ever Pakistani movie that was nominated at Cannes and managed to beat the other 13 nominated movies at the festival. 

The movie was also shortlisted for the Oscars.

Joyland was released worldwide but banned by the censor board of Pakistan over “highly objectionable material”. The restriction drew severe criticism and support for the film, and after some edits and approval by the censor board, the film was released across the country.

The Independent Spirit Awards are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers.