Bay Area Reporter :: Sri Lanka queer drama: Shyam Selvadurai & Deepa Mehta s Funny Boy ebar.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ebar.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Funny that way
Set against Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war, ‘
Funny Boy’ holds messages for today
Gregg Shapiro | Screen Savor
Based on the acclaimed 1994 novel of the same name by gay writer Shyam Selvadurai (who co-wrote the screenplay), Funny Boy (Array) is directed by Deepa Mehta (who co-wrote the screenplay with Selvadurai). Mehta, who is straight, is no stranger to queer material, having written and directed the award-winning 1996 lesbian feature Fire.
Set in Colombo, Sri Lanka, during the mid-1970s and early 1980s, especially turbulent years leading up to the beginning of the civil war between the Tamils and the Sinhalese that lasted for 26 years, Funny Boy is timely for a variety of reasons. At a time when tensions are particularly high here in the U.S., with our own civil war seemingly looming daily, Funny Boy serves as a kind of warning. Equally important is the central theme of sexuality and acceptance that propels the story.