Deepa Mehta Discusses ‘Funny Boy’ and That Oscar Rejection for Int’l Film

variety.com:

Shalini Dore Features News EditorDeepa Mehta’s had her fair share of tough shoots. “Water” had to be moved from India following protests and lensed in Sri Lanka, but she never had one that was affected by a pandemic.“Funny Boy,” released by Ava DuVernay’s Array, is streaming on Netflix.

Mehta, who has filmed a couple of other movies in Sri Lanka, loved the book by Shyam Selvadurai, a gay coming of age story between two teens — one a Tamil and one Sinhalese — set against the Sri Lankan civil war between the two groups.

Mehta had to make three trips to the capital of Columbo to get permission to shoot. “It took one year.”But the delay surprised her. “The book has been out for 22 years or more, and it’s a book that’s taught today at Columbo.