Culturays

Filmmakers always look forward to taking their work global and getting recognition. However, they fail to come through many times even for a film that gives them a lot of pride.

Rejection is a common thing in the field and many good films have gone unrewarded and uncelebrated.

The Oscars’ rejections and snubs for a film or an entire people can feel particularly cold.

The first Nigerian film to have a taste of the Oscars snub was “Lion Heart” by Genevieve Nnaji. “Lion Heart” is a contemporary movie with a strong female lead.

The film failed to meet the language specification of the Oscars and was dropped early in the race.

However, “King of Thieves” the Yoruba folklore thriller that led the selection list for Nigerian movies, was also dropped on the entry-level.

The team in Nigeria did hope that “King of Thieves” would be considered for a spot on the nominees’ list of the international language of the Oscars.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has now processed all the films it received during the submission for the 2023 Oscars.

It named several films and filmmakers on its 95th annual awards nominations list and African movies are just as scarce as ever.

Did “King of Thieves” have the prospect to be an Oscar contender? The answers to that question are contained in the eligibility section of the Academy’s documents.

What is the Nigerian movie industry missing?

Some of the crucial things about eligibility for an Oscar nomination include considering the big idea behind the selection.

The Oscars’, is too complicated for African Cinema because even the Black Cinema in the United States, home of the Academy, barely makes it to the list.

There is the subject of diversity, strong female leads and more, that a film should imbue if it must contend at the Oscars.

With the significance of the “Lion Heart” rejection in mind, what is diversity in the Nigerian movie context?

Nigerian films are mostly regional – a Yoruba film does not infuse the Igbo or Hausa languages, hence making such diversity impossible.

With this subject alone, the Oscars nominee list could still be out of reach for years to come for Nigerian movies.

“King of Thieves” fell off the consideration list of International Feature Film from films like; “All Quiet on the Western Front,” Germany “Argentina, 1985,” Argentina “Close,” Belgium “EO,” Poland “The Quiet Girl,” Ireland.