Nigerian film director and actor Genevieve Nnaji has protested against the disqualification of her film, Lionheart, from Oscar’s Best International Feature Film category.
The Academy dropped the Nigerian comedy “for having too much dialogue in English”, which violates its rule that requires entries in the international category to have “a predominantly non-English dialogue track.”
Lionheart, which is Nigeria’s first-ever submission to the Oscar, is largely in English, with an 11-minute section in the Igbo language.
The film, which has earned strong reviews and is currently streaming on Netflix, had been scheduled to screen for Academy voters in the international category on Wednesday.
Its disqualification was announced to voters in an email on Monday, according to The Wrap website.
It was one of the unprecedented 29 films out of 93 originally submitted this year that were directed by women.
The Director Genevieve Nnaji, who also stars in the film, protested against the disqualification on Twitter saying the film “represents the way we speak as Nigerians.”
She added that; “This includes English which acts as a bridge between the 500+ languages spoken in our country. We did not choose who colonised us. As ever, this film and many like it, is proudly Nigerian.”
Top Hollywood director Ava DuVernay tweeted in support of Lionheart asking if the disqualification meant “barring” Nigeria from ever competing for an Oscar:
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
English is the official language of most African countries that were colonised by Britain.