Movie News

Joyland is a 2022 Pakistan drama by Saim Sadiq
Starring Rasti Farooq, Sarwat Gilani and Ali Junejo

As the happily patriarchal Rana family craves for the birth of a baby boy, the youngest of the Rana men secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and finds himself falling for a fiercely ambitious trans starlet. Their impossible love story slowly illuminates the entire Rana family's...

Alina Khan, who stars in Joyland, the first major Pakistani film to feature a trans actor in a lead role, said:

I've been very sad. There's nothing against Islam and I don't understand how Islam can get endangered by mere films.

Joyland, which is Pakistan's contender at the Oscars, was set to go on national release, but was banned following pressure from hardline Islamic groups who called the film repugnant.

Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, a senator in the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) party, called Joyland cultural terrorism and criticised the government for the shameless act of allowing its release:

 I condemn it and will use every legal step to stop Joyland's release. Glamourising transgenders in Pakistan, as well as their love affairs, is a direct attack on our beliefs.

Cancelling the film's licence, which puts its Oscars' contention in doubt, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said:

Written complaints were received that the film contains highly objectionable material which do not conform with the social values and moral standards of our society and is clearly repugnant to the norms of 'decency and morality' as laid down in Section 9 of the Motion Picture Ordinance, 1979.

Joyland has been hailed on the festival circuit. It was the first Pakistani film to be selected as an official entry at Cannes in May, winning two festival awards and receiving a standing ovation in a packed Salle Debussy theatre.

Update: Unbanned after cuts

21st November 2022. See article from easterneye.biz

Pakistani film Joyland has been unbanned by the censor board of Pakistan after making several scenes were cut.

The full censor board has allowed the local screening of Joyland. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a cabinet committee to look into the matter after some schools of thought had objected to the movie.

Update: Re-banned in Punjab

30th November 2022. See article from hrw.org

Less than 24 hours after the national government's decision to unban Joyland, the Punjab government blocked the film's release in the province.

The Punjab Information and Culture Department explained that the Punjab government decided to re-call Joyland in the wake of persistent complaints received from different quarters.

The Sunday Times featured an interview with the new president of the BBFC alongside CEO David Austin. The article ran with the headline:

Natasha Kaplinsky, chief censor: where I'll draw the line on sex and gore The shining star of Noughties news and Strictly talks about her new job

Of course if you want to know where she'll draw the line you'll have to pay up. Thankfully other news sites have reported on BBFC utterances but haven't detailed any actual quotes answering the headline question of where lines will be drawn. MSN reported on the interview:

Kaplinsky told The Sunday Times Magazine that her background as a journalist will make her stronger when watching the tougher stuff she will have to view in her job.

She is an ambassador for Save the Children and president of Barnado's, and sees the BBFC role as a logical extension of her charity work. Shifting societal attitudes

As its president, Kaplinsky will be a member of the board of directors and will chair the Board of Classification, which meets monthly and oversees all matters relating to classification, including the most complex and controversial of cases.

Kaplinsky also told the magazine that being a child at the moment is very tricky due to the nature of online activity:

I definitely wouldn't want to grow up again. I'm fully aware of the influences that our children are under -- they're bombarded by this content constantly -- and yet we're able to provide a safe space for them. We've always relied on the classification system to do that.

She cautioned how online is largely unpoliced, and that's a worrying situation as a parent: you see how it influences their behaviour.

When she took on the role in September she said it was crucial that children's welfare is at the forefront of policy decision-making and this is central to the BBFC's efforts in the online safety space. She added:

The challenges that young people face now in the UK are greater than ever before -- and I am committed to giving voice to their needs.

Infinity Pool is a 2022 Canada/Hungary/France Sci-Fi horror by Brandon Cronenberg
Starring Mia Goth, Alexander Skarsgård and Amanda Brugel

Originally the movie was MPA NC-17 rated, but the producers decided to appeal for an R rating.

The Classification and Rating Administration's (CARA) Appeals Board tied in a vote to change the NC-17 rating to R but a two thirds majority is required to change the rating and so the NC-17 rating was maintained.

The producers then decided to cut the movie for an MPA R rating.

It is not yet clear if the cuts will affect international releases.

Summary Notes

James and Em Foster are enjoying an all-inclusive beach vacation in the fictional island of La Tolqa, when a fatal accident exposes the resort's perverse subculture of hedonistic tourism, reckless violence and surreal horrors.

Versions

cut		US: Cut and MPA R rated for graphic violence, disturbing material, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and some language.
uncut		US: Uncut and MPA NC-17 rated for some graphic violence and sexual content

Beyond Fury is a 2019 UK action film by Darren Ward
Starring Dani Thompson, Giovanni Lombardo Radice and Jeff Stewart

Ex-Mercenary Michael Walker and his pregnant girlfriend Claudia are brutally attacked. Now with Claudia and the unborn child dead, Walker reverts to his military training to hunt down and serve his own kinda street justice.

A BBFC submission was in process but presumably it will be cancelled now.

A Day of Violence is a 2010 UK crime thriller by Darren Ward
Starring Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Nick Rendell and Christopher Fosh

Mitchell Parker lies dead on a morgue slab. In life, 'Mitchell' served the low ranks of Debt Collectors, surrounded by all the filth and scum that the world had to offer. He thought his luck was in, when on a routine collection he stumbles across 100,000 in cash.

Passed 18 uncut by the BBFC in 2010 for very strong language, strong bloody violence and strong sex.

Sudden Fury is a 1997 UK action drama by Darren Ward.
Starring Chris Barfoot and Antony Dobson and Adam Light.

Intent on seizing control of South East England's cocaine business, small-time crime boss Randall hires notorious hit-man Walker to take out his competition. When Randall betrays the hit-man, however, the tables are turned.

Passed 18 uncut by the BBFC in 2003.

Direct Darren Ward has reported on Facebook that the planned UK Halloween release of his Crime Trilogy has been cancelled after supermarkets decided that it was too violent to be put on sale. He wrote

I signed a contract with a UK distributor back in June for THE CRIME TRILOGY that covered the UK, Australia & New Zealand. However due to the violent content of my films, the distributor has pulled out resulting in the termination of the contract.

BEYOND FURY and the other two movies WILL NOW NOT BE RELEASED on HALLOWEEN and probably will never see the light of day in the UK.

It deeply saddens me that after everyone's hard work and effort on a movie that has won 6 International awards, has been cast aside due to the simple fact that Supermarkets won't stock them.

What the Supermarkets fail to remember is that when released in 2010 A DAY OF VIOLENCE got to number 10 in the ASDA film charts across the country!

To end on a positive BEYOND FURY will see release in Germany, Austria & Switzerland in 2023!