Pakistani PM orders review of ban on Oscar-entry film 'Joyland'

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered a review of the ban on Pakistan's Oscar entry ''Joyland'', his aide has said, days after the movie was banned for allegedly containing ''highly objectionable material''.

Written and directed by debutant Saim Sadiq, ''Joyland'' was banned by Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, a week ahead of its planned release on November 18 across the country.

Salman Sufi, an adviser to Prime Minister Shehbaz, late on Monday said that a high-level committee is being formed to assess the movie and review the ban.

''The committee will assess the complaints as well as merits to decide on its release in Pakistan,'' Sufi said in a tweet.

In a notification issued on Monday, the PM's secretariat informed about the formation of the committee to deliberate on complaints against the movie.

The committee includes minister for political affairs and economic affairs, law and justice chairperson, minister for information and broadcasting, minister for communications, minister for board of investment and others.

The story of ''Joyland'' follows a patriarchal family, craving for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line, while their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for a trans woman.

Sania Saeed along with Ali Junejo, Aleena Khan, Rasti Faruq, Salman Pirzada, and Sohail Samir are part of the main cast. It is produced by Apoorva Guru Charan, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, and Lauren Mann.

Sadiq, who made his directing debut with the movie, said the cast and crew were gutted by the ''unconstitutional and illegal'' ban.

''We - as a team - are gutted by this development but finally intend to raise our voice against this injustice.

''A number of people have put in years and years of hard work and money behind this film and we cannot allow that to go to waste based on baseless rumours and complaints from a few individuals that have suddenly overridden the law and the system," the filmmaker said in a statement on Instagram on Sunday.

''Joyland'' became the first Pakistani movie to be screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, and it also made its way to the Toronto Film Festival. The movie won the Cannes Queer Palm prize for best LGBT, "queer" or feminist-themed movie. The film also won the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard segment.

Last Friday, it won the Asia Pacific Screen Awards' young cinema award, given in partnership with critics' association NETPAC and the Griffith Film School.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)