The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has disqualified Deepa Mehta's 'Funny Boy', Canada's entry for best international feature Oscar consideration, for having too much dialogue in English. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Christa Dickenson, executive director of Telefilm Canada, said in a statement on Friday, "Although we were disappointed when informed by the Academy, we are excited to extend our ongoing support for 'Funny Boy' as the journey to the Oscars continues." Telefilm, which submits Canada's contender at the Academy, said 'Funny Boy' has now been submitted for consideration in Oscar's best picture and general entry categories.
"We were surprised that the film was not able to compete in the Academy's international feature category, but then were equally surprised and more than thrilled that Telefilm decided to support the submission of the film for best picture and other categories at the Academy Awards," Mehta said in her own statement.
'Funny Boy', which has been shot on location in Sri Lanka and set in the 1970s and '80s, portrays a young boy named Arjie growing up as political tensions escalate to a boiling point between the minority Tamils and the majority Sinhalese. He comes of age in a society and family that does not embrace differences outside of societal norms.
As per The Hollywood Reporter, 'Funny Boy' is produced by David Hamilton and Hussain Amarshi. Ava DuVernay's ARRAY Releasing sold the Canadian indie to Netflix. 'Funny Boy', which stars Brandon Ingram, Nimmi Harasgama, Ali Kazmi, Agam Darshi and Arush Nand, also bypassed movie theaters in Canada as it bowed on the CBC network in early December.
