- Deepa Mehta discusses her movie Funny Boy at Abhimani Queer Film Festival 2022
“When I first read the book, it spoke to me on all levels. For me, it was an amalgamation of fire and earth. There was such tenderness among such violence – and I fell in love with that. This existed in Shyam’s novel like it never could have anywhere else.”
Award-winning director of Funny Boy and Water, Deepa Mehta was in a state of pure awe when she was here in Sri Lanka, attending the launch of the Abhimani Queer Film Festival 2022 in Colombo, organised by EQUAL GROUND together with the Canadian High Commission in Sri Lanka, on 25 February.
The Abhimani Queer Film Festival 2022 – South Asia’s first and oldest Queer Film Festival – was launched with a screening of Funny Boy, based on Shyam Selvadurai’s best-selling novel of the same name, published in 1994. The film screening was followed by a panel discussion with Mehta, actors Nimmi Harasgama, Brandon Ingram, as well as Selvadurai joining virtually from Canada. The discussion was moderated by EQUAL GROUND’s Executive Director Rosanna Flamer-Caldera.
There was an array of emotion – joy, celebration, admiration, and gratefulness – that was displayed by all of the panelists as they delved into the intricacies of the movie and book, and what they have done for them as creatives.
“The film is about anti-prejudice. It’s about hope. It’s about how love can triumph,” Mehta continued, adding: “There is something about Sri Lanka that feels very familiar to me. What is special about the making of Funny Boy is that, even though I had been to Sri Lanka previously to create films, this was the first time we used Sri Lanka as Sri Lanka, and not as a substitute.”
Selvadurai, commenting on the book and the journey it’s taken, said: “I wanted a young queer person to pick up a book in Sri Lanka and see themselves the way I never saw myself.” The movie, according to Selvadurai, captured something he never expected it to capture. “It’s a wonderful movie. The first time I saw it was a magical experience. Walking out of the screening, I felt like I was walking on air,” he shared.
The film festival was attended by over 60 guests, including Canadian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka David McKinnon and other dignitaries.
Harasgama, who was visibly holding back tears, shared how she watched her mom, who is from Colombo and who is Tamil, experience the ’83 riots. “I looked to her for every aspect of the film.”
Ingram, who’s been a stage actor for 15 years, talked about how Funny Boy was his first experience featuring in a movie. “I regressed to a difficult time I went through, through Arjie’s eyes. I struggled with my sexuality in my younger years. I was able to make peace with myself at 17. Arjie did that for me.”
If you’ve not watched the movie yet, make time to go see it. The tenderness of its characters will stay with you for years to come.