Los Angeles: India's 'Chhello Show' or 'Last Film Show' and Pakistan's 'Joyland' lost out in the 95th Oscar Awards race as the two films did not make it to the final nominations.
Filmmaker Pan Nalin's Gujarati film 'Chhello Show' was selected as India's official entry in the Best International Feature Film category at the 95th Academy Awards.
Likewise, 'Joyland' was among the 10-film shortlisted for the Oscars' Best Foreign Film category.
Both the films lost the Oscar race in the final nomination list to Multiverse sci-fi smash 'Everything Everywhere All At Once', 'All Quiet on the Western Front' (Germany), 'Argentina, 1985' (Argentina), 'Close' (Belgium), 'EO' (Poland) and 'The Quiet Girl' (Ireland).
'Chhello Show' is a Gujarati-language coming-of-age drama about a nine-year-old boy, Samay (Bhavin Rabari), who's ensnared by the magic of cinema and sets forth to fulfil his 35mm celluloid dreams.
It stars Bhavin Rabari, Bhavesh Shrimali, Richa Meena, Dipen Raval and Paresh Mehta. The film had premiered at the 20th Tribeca Film Festival in June 2021 and was theatrically released in India in October 2022.
'Joyland', directed by debutante Saim Sadiq, tells the tale of a patriarchal family, craving for the birth of a boy to continue the family line.
The family's youngest son, the protagonist, secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for a trans woman.
The film stars Sania Saeed, Ali Junejo, Alina Khan, Sarwat Gilani, Rasti Farooq, Salmaan Peerzada and Sohail Sameer. It was released in Pakistan in November after a short ban.
However all is not bad for India and Pakistan as Saim Sadiq's directorial became the first Pakistani film to have been shortlisted for Oscars whereas India grabs one nomination in the Original Song category for RRR's Naatu Naatu.
The nominations were announced by British Pakistani Oscar-winning actor, Riz Ahmed and Hollywood star Allison Williams. The awards will be announced on March 12, 2023.
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