Oscar winner Riz Ahmed joins forces with Joyland as executive producer

Having bagged multiple accolades, an Oscar nomination, and a ten minutes-long standing ovation at Cannes Film Festival, Joyland seems to be the epitome of success and revolution of Pakistan cinema prompting everyone to be associated with it.

From Priyanka Chopra congratulating the director Saim Sadiq and the film's ensemble cast over the cinematic masterpiece to Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai working as an executive producer, Joyland seems to be the center of attention, especially after an Oscar Award recipient has jumped on board.

The Academy Award winner who happens to be a British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed recently announced that he joined Sadiq’s directorial as an executive producer. The Mogul Mowgli actor took to Instagram to announce that his production company called "Left Handed Films" became a part of Joyland's team.

For those wondering what Joyland offers, it is the first Pakistan film to win awards at the Cannes Film Festival 2022. The movie also won the Cannes Queer Palm prize for best LGBT, “queer” or feminist-themed movie and the Jury Prize in the Un Certain Regard segment. Joyland stars Sarwat Gilani, Sania Saeed, Ali Junejo, Alina Khan, and Rasti Farooq. 

In a lengthy note describing how Sadiq's brainchild is "gut-wrenching" and "elegantly composed", The Long Goodbye star wrote, “We are so proud at Left Handed Films to be a part of @joylandmovie. Our motto is “go left” and Saim Sadiq’s unique film does just that. JOYLAND is ground-breaking. And it's easy to get lost in all the ways that it is; the first Pakistani film at Cannes, the first award-winner, the first to be Oscar®️ shortlisted, and a queer love story that has overcome multiple bans. But more important than any of the glass ceilings it smashes, is how this film so masterfully breaks our hearts."

Ahmed added, "Saim Sadiq’s filmmaking is both understated and gut-wrenching. His writing is consistently unexpected, and every scene is so elegantly composed but still bursting with raw performances. JOYLAND is one of the best films of the year, and against all odds of resources and marketing budgets, it's been amazing to see festival juries, audiences, and critics shouting that from the rooftops."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Riz Ahmed (@rizahmed)

Responding to Ahmed being on board with the team, Sadiq told Variety, “I am excited that Riz and Left Handed Films will be joining Joyland as EPs. Riz and his production company have a track record of exquisite taste and having them on board further affirms our belief in both the urgency and universality of Joyland.”

According to Variety, Ahmed is one of many executive producers including Yousafzai, Ramin Bahrani, Jemima Khan, William Olsson, Jen Goyne Blake, Tiffany Boyle, Elsa Ramo, Oleg Dubson, Kathrin Lohmann, Hari Charana Prasad, Sukanya Puvvula and Owais Ahmed.

Talking about the 95th Academy Awards ceremony, the official Academy awards' Instagram handle shared the 15 films that made it to the next round of voting in the International Feature Film category, including Sadiq’s Joyland. The Academy Awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on March 12 in Los Angeles.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Academy (@theacademy)

On the work front, Ahmed is currently working on Nimona, and will next be seen in Fingernails.

American distributor to release Pakistani film 'Joyland' in US