Malala Yousafzai, a female education champion who runs her own film and television production firm called Extracurricular Productions, will serve as executive producer on “Joyland,” Pakistan’s entry for the international feature Oscar category.
The movie made its premiere in the world at Cannes earlier this year, when it took home the jury prize and Queer Palm awards in the Un Certain Regard category. Then, in Toronto, it had its North American debut.
The movie is presently showing at the BFI London Film Festival, where it is up for the Sutherland Award, which honors the most inventive and creative directorial debut, and the Busan International Film Festival, where it is part of the A Window on Asian Cinema strand.
In this story of sexual insurrection, a patriarchal family covertly enrolls in an exotic dance company and develops a crush on an aspiring transgender superstar while secretly wishing for a boy to be born so that the family line can continue.
According to Yousafzai, who was quoted by “Variety,” “I am tremendously delighted to promote a film that indicates Pakistani artists are among the finest in the world of filmmaking.
“Joyland” challenges us to view those who are closest to us “as they are, not tinted by our own expectations or social bias” by encouraging us to open our eyes to them.
Yousafzai and Apple TV+ agreed to a multiyear content agreement in 2021. “Joyland,” written and directed by Saim Sadiq, features Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, Sarwat Gilani, Sohail Sameer, Salman Peerzada, and Sania Saeed. The film is produced by Apoorva Guru Charan, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, and Lauren Mann.
