Three Nollywood movies that were nominated for Oscars but were not awarded

Three Nollywood movies that were nominated for Oscars but were not awarded

When it comes to its Oscar entries for the Global Best Film category, Nollywood has not had much success.

Due to eligibility concerns, Lionheart, the initial Nollywood film to be considered for an Oscar, was eliminated.

On Sunday, the 10th of March 2024, in Los Angeles, the 96th Academy Awards ceremony will honor some of the top names in Hollywood for their achievements in the previous year.

Hollywood isn’t the only place that can compete for Oscars; other films from all over the world can also win in the Foreign Feature Film category

 The Worldwide Feature Film category has allowed films from all over across the globe to compete for viewers’ attention and the chance to win an Oscar, proving that the ceremony isn’t only

for Hollywood. The majority of the films submitted in this category are not in English and come from various international film industry.

Nollywood, the entertainment business in Nigeria, isn’t left out and has submitted multiple entries to win the prize. The business hasn’t been lucky, either, as none of its submissions have ever

exceeded the Oscars night selection of five.

This is a list of every movie that the Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee (NOSC) has ever presented to the Academy for review.

Lionheart, an episode in the family directed by Genevieve Nnaji, made record in 2019 when it was the first Nigerian film to be considered for the 2020 Academy Awards’ International Feature

Film category. It was generally heralded as an important achievement for Nollywood, marking its readiness to compete on the international film scene.

Only 11 minutes of the 95-minute movie were in Igbo, so it did not meet the category’s speech requirement to be “predominantly non-English,” which led to the film’s disqualification by the

Academy. Although the disqualification received a lot of backlash, Lionheart’s prospects of being shortlisted were lost due to the condition not being met. Finally, Parasite, a black comedic

thriller from South Korea, won the category.

Following the setback of the preceding year, The NOSC exercised greater caution in choosing films for the 2021 Oscars after the disappointing results of the year prior, and Desmond

Ovbiagele’s The Milkmaid was added to the long list. The poignant movie, which primarily speaks Hausa, is on the survival of two sisters in a terrorist-infested world.

The Milkmaid, however, failed to reach the Oscar shortlist; instead, Denmark’s entrant Another Round won the award.

The primary explanation given by the NOSC for not submitting any movies for the Oscars in 2022 and 2023 was that they did not match the qualifying requirements.

When the panel presented CJ Obasi’s Mami Wata in 2023, that was altered.

The fantasy movie created record by being the first production from Nollywood to be screened at Sundance. Its remarkable cinematography even earned it an exclusive jury prize.

Io Capitano (Italy), Perfect Days (Japan), Society of the Snow (Spain), The Teachers’ Lounge (Germany), and The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) are among the foreign films that made the

shortlist and are hoping to be honored.