The Lionheart by Genevieve Nnaji has been disqualified by Oscar Academy from the race in the Best International Feature Film category
The Movie is the first ever Nigeria film submitted to the Oscars by Nigeria.
“Lionheart” which was directed by actress-turned-director Genevieve Nnaji, was disqualified because it violates an Academy rule that entries in the category must have “a predominantly non-English dialogue track.”
Meanwhile, “Lionheart,” in which Geneveive also stars, is partially in the Igbo language of Nigeria but it is mostly in English
The Academy announced the disqualification of “Lionheart” to voters in the category in an email on Monday.
While reacting to the action, Genevieve Nnaji confirmed the development in a series of tweets on her official Twitter page.
She wrote:
“Thank you so much. I am the director of Lionheart. This movie represents the way we speak as Nigerians. This includes English which acts as a bridge between the 500+ languages spoken in our country; thereby making us #OneNigeria.
“It’s no different to how French connects communities in former French colonies. We did not choose who colonized us. As ever, this film and many like it, is proudly Nigerian. ”
1/1 1/2 Thank you so much @ava❤️.
I am the director of Lionheart. This movie represents the way we speak as Nigerians. This includes English which acts as a bridge between the 500+ languages spoken in our country; thereby making us #OneNigeria. @TheAcademy https://t.co/LMfWDDNV3e— Genevieve Nnaji MFR (@GenevieveNnaji1) November 4, 2019
2/2 It’s no different to how French connects communities in former French colonies. We did not choose who colonized us. As ever, this film and many like it, is proudly Nigerian. @TheAcademy https://t.co/LMfWDDNV3e
— Genevieve Nnaji MFR (@GenevieveNnaji1) November 4, 2019
Below are some comments by top Celebrities over the action of Oscar Academy;
@ava – To @TheAcademy, You disqualified Nigeria’s first-ever submission for Best International Feature because its in English. But English is the official language of Nigeria. Are you barring this country from ever competing for an Oscar in its official language?
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