Funny Boy (2020)

Deepa Mehta | Sri Lanka, Canada | 2020 | 108 min | M18 (Mature Content and Some Violence) A young boy, Arjie, comes of age and navigates his sexuality amidst escalating racial tensions leading up to the Sri Lankan civil war in 1983. Arjie, derided by his friends and family for his “funny” pastimes, finds an unexpected ally in his exuberant aunt Radha. Within the safety of this bond, he finds the courage to explore his gender presentation. However, as racial tensions rise amongst the Tamils and Sinhalese in a post-independence Sri Lanka, both Radha and a few years later, adolescent Arjie, face backlash from their Tamil families for their interracial relationships with their Sinhalese partners. Arjie increasingly grapples with being not only an ethnic minority, but also a boy in love with another boy. Based on the novel Funny Boy by Shyam Selvadurai, this film is a critical story that illuminates the turmoil and joys of love in a time of strife.