Genevieve Nnaji Faults Oscars After Disqualification Of ‘Lionheart’ Movie
Nigerian actress Genevieve Nnaji has faulted the disqualification of her directorial debut ‘Lionheart’ by the Oscars Award Academy.
Oscars disqualified ‘Lionheart’ from the Best International Feature Film category for having too much dialogue in English.
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The Academy said the movie ran afoul of its rule that entries in the renamed international feature movie category must have “a predominantly non-English dialogue track.”
The international category demands that movies produced outside the United States must be in predominantly non-English dialogue.
The Academy announced the disqualification of ‘Lionheart’ to voters in an email on Monday.
But reacting swiftly on Tuesday, Genevieve said English was used in the movie because it represents the official language of Nigeria.
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“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,” she said via her official twitter page @GenevieveNnaji1.
Genevieve offered the explanation after Hollywood figure and movie Director Ava DuVernay tweeted her disappointment at Lionheart’s disqualification by Oscars.
Duvernay tweeted: “To @TheAcademy, You disqualified Nigeria’s first-ever submission for Best International Feature because it’s 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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‘Lionheart’ which is currently streaming on Netflix was as one of 10 movies officially submitted for Oscar consideration in 2019 and the first film ever to be submitted to the Oscars by Nigeria.
In the movie, Genervieve plays a woman who tries to keep her father’s struggling company afloat in a male-dominated environment.
