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Saim Sadiq’s award-winning film Joyland is finally set to be screened in Lahore nearly two years after it was barred from cinemas in Punjab. The long-awaited screening will take place at an alternative venue instead of a movie theatre.

The announcement was made by Noor Ul Ain Choudhary, who, according to her Instagram bio, hosts mixtape events in Lahore and Karachi. In collaboration with OLOMOPOLO Media, an event space in Lahore, and Ticketwala, the ticketing platform for the event, she revealed that the screening will be held on August 17.

“Join us for the first screening of Joyland in Lahore on August 17. It is the first Pakistani film to premiere at Cannes and win the Jury Prize, as well as Pakistan’s official Oscar entry. We’re also welcoming the Writer and Director, Saim Sadiq, for a Q&A session after. Viewer discretion advised: Intended for audiences 18 years and older,” read the announcement.

Sadiq, sharing the post on his Instagram stories, wrote, “Finally screening in Lahore for the first time lol. But chalo koi nai (Anyway, doesn’t matter)! See you there!”

Tickets for the screening are priced at Rs2,000.

The journey to this screening has been long. In November 2022, just hours after the federal government decided to lift its ban on Joyland — which had already premiered at Cannes in May of that year and brought home the Jury Prize — the Punjab government issued a notice to the film’s producer prohibiting its exhibition in the province.

The Punjab Information and Culture Department — citing “persistent complaints” and invoking Section 9(1) and (2)(a), (b) of the Motion Pictures Ordinance of 1979 — sent a notice to producer Sarmad Sultan Khoosat. The notice declared that Joyland could not be exhibited within Punjab until further notice by the provincial government

The provincial ban has since remained in place, blocking the film from being shown in cinemas.

For Lahore audiences, this OLOMOPOLO Media event offers a rare opportunity to finally watch Joyland on the big screen, albeit outside the walls of a traditional theatre, and to engage directly with the filmmaker whose work has stirred both acclaim and debate.

Joyland tells the story of Haider, a young married man from a patriarchal Lahore household who becomes enamoured with Biba, a transgender dancer in an erotic dance theatre.

The film explores themes of desire, identity, family, and patriarchal structures in contemporary Pakistan. It was the first Pakistani feature to compete at the Cannes Film Festival and earned the prestigious Un Certain Regard Jury Prize there.