'Joyland' & RRR's Song 'Naatu Naatu' Make It To Oscars 2023 Shortlist

Pakistani film 'Joyland' may have faced trials and tribulations at home but to the international community, it was a banger from the start and now has been shortlisted for the Oscars, the first ever movie to do so from the country.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences released its Oscar shortlists for the upcoming 95th edition in 10 categories.

'Joyland' is among 15 films that got the best international feature film honour and will advance to the final stage of nominations. The critically acclaimed film follows a patriarchal family, craving for the birth of a baby boy to continue the family line, while their youngest son secretly joins an erotic dance theatre and falls for a trans woman.

Sania Saeed, along with Ali Junejo, Aleena Khan, Rasti Faruq, Salman Pirzada and Sohail Samir, are part of the main cast. It is produced by Apoorva Guru Charan, Sarmad Sultan Khoosat and Lauren Mann.

Films from 92 countries and regions were eligible for the best international feature film category. India's 'Chhello Show' ('Last Film Show') also made it to the list, according to the official website of the Academy.

Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, who recently joined the team of 'Joyland' as an executive producer, congratulated director Saim Sadiq for making it to the shortlist.

Also, the acclaimed documentary feature 'All That Breathes', the documentary short 'The Elephant Whisperers' and 'Naatu Naatu', the song from the period action blockbuster 'RRR' have made it to the shortlist.

While 'Chhello Show' is part of the international feature film shortlist, 'Naatu Naatu' appears on the music (original song) shortlist. 'All That Breathes' and 'The Elephant Whisperers' are included in the shortlists of documentary feature and documentary short segments, respectively.

'Chhello Show' (titled 'Last Film Show' in English) is a Gujarati-language coming-of-age story of a young boy's love affair with cinema in a Saurashtra village.

This is the third major international nomination for 'Naatu Naatu', the popular Telugu song from SS Rajamouli's magnum opus 'RRR'. As part of the music (original song) category, 'Naatu Naatu' will face off with 14 other tracks.

Shaunak Sen's celebrated film 'All That Breathes', an internationally co-produced Hindi title, is vying for a spot in the top five of the best documentary feature category.

Kartiki Gonsalves' 'The Elephant Whisperers' is a Tamil documentary short that depicts an unbreakable bond between two abandoned elephants and their caretakers. It is produced by Guneet Monga and Achin Jain of 'Sikhya Entertainment'.

The nominations for the 95th Academy Awards will be announced on January 24, while the Oscars ceremony will be held on March 12, at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles.