Oscars 2023: Joyland shortlists for International Feature Film award; becomes first Pakistani film to be shortlisted

Oscars 2023: Joyland, a Pakistani film, may have encountered difficulties at home, but it was a hit with the international world from the start, and it is now the first film from the country to be nominated for an Oscar. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the shortlists for the forthcoming 95th Academy Awards on Thursday. Joyland is one of 15 films that have made the cut for the Best International Feature Film award and will now move on to the final round of nominees. Chhello Show (The Last Show) from India has also been nominated in the International Feature Film category.

Joyland faced backlash in Pakistan

Joyland is a highly praised film about a patriarchal family yearning for the birth of a newborn boy to continue the family line as their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for a trans woman.

The major cast includes Sania Saeed, Ali Junejo, Aleena Khan, Rasti Faruq, Salman Pirzada, and Sohail Samir. Apoorva Guru Charan, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, and Lauren Mann produced the film. Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, who joined Joyland as an executive producer, thanked director Saim Sadiq on making the shortlist. The film's official Instagram page posted a video of Malala Yousafzai over the phone expressing her joy to Sadiq.

India has two films in the Documentary Feature Film category in Oscars 2023

The Best International Feature Film category included films from 92 nations and territories. According to the Academy's official website, India's Chhello Show (Last Film Show) also made the list. In addition, the song Naatu Naatu from SS Rajamouli's RRR has been nominated for Best Original Song. India has two films shortlisted in the Documentary Feature Film category: All That Breathes and The Elephant Whisperers.

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