Malala Yousafzai, who heads her own film and TV production company, Extracurricular Productions, is joining “Joyland,” Pakistan’s Oscar submission in the international feature category, as an executive producer.
The film had its world premiere at Cannes earlier this year where it won the jury prize at the festival’s Un Certain Regard strand. It subsequently had its North American premiere at Toronto.
It is currently playing at both the BFI London Film Festival, where it is competing for the Sutherland Award, which recognizes the most original and imaginative directorial debut, and the Busan International Film Festival, where it is in the A Window on Asian Cinema strand.
The tale of sexual revolt sees a patriarchal family yearn for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line, while their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theater and falls for an ambitious transsexual starlet.
Yousafzai said: “I am incredibly proud to support a film that proves Pakistani artists are among the best in global cinema. ‘Joyland’ invites us to open our eyes to the people closest to us — to see our family members and friends as they are, not colored by our own expectations or societal bias.”
In 2021, Yousafzai struck a multiyear programming pact with Apple TV+ through Extracurricular.
Written and directed by Saim Sadiq and produced by Apoorva Guru Charan, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat, and Lauren Mann, “Joyland” stars Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, Sarwat Gilani, Sohail Sameer, Salman Peerzada and Sania Saeed.
The film is an ALL CAPS + Khoosat Films production in association with Extracurricular, Diversity Hire Ltd, One Two Twenty Entertainment, Blood Moon Creative, Film Manufacturers Inc, Astrakan AB, and Noruz Films.
Producers include Kathryn M. Moseley, Oliver Ridge, April Shih, and Katharina Otto-Bernstein, and executive producers are Yousafzai, Ramin Bahrani, William Olsson, Jen Goyne Blake, Tiffany Boyle, Elsa Ramo, Oleg Dubson, Kathrin Lohmann, Hari Charana Prasad, Sukanya Puvvula and Owais Ahmed.
