Deepa Mehta's 'Funny Boy' no longer eligible for Oscars international category for this reason

Deepa Mehta's 'Funny Boy', Canada's official entry for the best international feature has been disqualified from the Academy Awards, instead, it will be submitted for consideration in the best picture and general entry categories.Oscars 2021: All International Feature Films submissions so far

The movie does not meet the awards eligibility requirements forhaving too manydialogues in English. The Best international feature is awarded to a movie which is produced outside the United States with predominantly non-English dialogue.

Mehta issued a statement saying she was “surprised” by the Academy’s decision "We were surprised that the film was not able to compete in the Academy’s international feature category, but then were equally surprised and more than thrilled that Telefilm decided to support the submission of the film for best picture and other categories at the Academy Awards,"

A replacement film for Canada’s submission in the same category is being considered and will be announced shortly, Telefilm says.

Deepa Mehta directorial is an adaptation of Shyam Selvadurai's 1994 novel of the same name. The film centres on the coming of age of Arjie Chelvaratnam, a young Tamil boy in Sri Lanka who is coming to terms with his homosexuality against the backdrop of the increased tensions between Tamil and Sinhalese people before the breakout of the Sri Lankan Civil War.

Other than Deepa's movie, the Academy has disqualified other movies for the same reason, including Portugal’s entry 'Listen' this week.

The 2021 Oscars are scheduled for April 25, 2021.