Funny Boy to represent Canada at the Oscars
A scene from Funny Boy by Deepa Mehta.
Share October 29, 2020 3:12 p.m. Updated at 4:20 p.m. Share Funny Boy to represent Canada at the Oscars The Canadian Press La Presse TORONTO – Funny Boy by director and co-writer Deepa Mehta will represent Canada in the nomination process for Best International Film by the 93rd Academy Awards.
The ceremony is due to take place on April 25, 2021, and by then, the Academy must choose the finalists from dozens of films around the world.
The Toronto filmmaker was previously a 2007 finalist in the category – then called “Best Foreign Film” – for her film Water . Eleven films from Canada contested this year.
The feature film is based on Shyam Selvadurai's novel about a young gay man's coming of age in Sri Lanka during the deadly conflict between Tamils and Sinhalese. The film, shot in Sri Lanka, is co-written by Deepa Mehta and Shyam Selvadurai.
For the Funny Boy team , the next step, still difficult to take, will be to pass the second round, while only ten feature films, among the dozen that will embark on the race (92 countries presented themselves on the block of departure last year), will be selected for what is called the “short list”. This announcement will be made on February 9.
Among the countries that have already submitted their candidacy (23 so far), let us mention Germany ( And Tomorrow the Entire World , by Julia von Heinz), Japan ( True Mothers by Naomi Kawase), Côte d'Ivoire ( La night of kings , by Philippe Lacôte), the Czech Republic ( Charlatan , by Agnieszka Holland) and the Ukraine ( Atlantis , by Valentyn Vasyanovych).
In Oscar history, eight Canadian films were officially nominated in the category, including Rebelle by Kim Nguyen, Monsieur Lazhar by Philippe Falardeau and Incendies by Denis Villeneuve.
Filmmaker Denys Arcand has been nominated three times, even winning the prestigious trophy in 2004 with Les Invasions barbares .
Funny Boy is scheduled to stream in Canada on CBC Gem, after it airs on CBC on December 4. The film will premiere on Netflix outside of Canada on Thursday, December 10.
