Nigeria’s best international film entry missing on Academy award nomination list

Nigeria’s official submission for the best international film category of the 94th Academy awards, C. J Obasi’s Mami Wata failed to make the cut when the nominees for the best international film category was announced by the Board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Thursday. However, 15 countries, including Tunisia and Morrocco, made the cut.

The films listed for the best International Feature Film category are Armenia, Amerikatsi, Bhutan, The Monk and the Gun, Denmark, “The Promised Land”, Finland, “Fallen Leaves”, France, “The Taste of Things”, Germany, “The Teachers’ Lounge”, Iceland, “Godland”, Italy, “Io Capitano”, Japan, “Perfect Days”, Mexico, “Totem”, Morocco, “The Mother of All Lies”, Spain, “Society of the Snow”, Tunisia, “Four Daughters”, Ukraine, “20 Days in Mariupol”, and United Kingdom, “The Zone of Interest”.

The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) had selected Obasi’s West African folklore Mami Wata as Nigeria’s submission for the ‘Best International Feature Film’ category. The NOSC, a panel of 14 industry expert chaired by the award-winning actress and producer, Stephanie Linus, unanimously selected Mami Wata for its ‘relevant theme’ and “its unique approach to a story of pre- and post-colonial African societies, as well as its technical and artistic excellence.” Written and directed by C.J. Obasi, the epic tale tells the story of a beachside community that must interrogate previously held beliefs when a stranger washes up ashore and further threatens its harmony. The film, which features a stellar cast including, Evelyne Ily Juhen, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Kelechi Udegbe, Emeka Amakeze and Rita Edochie, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, and was also selected to participate in the final cut of the 78 th La Biennale di Venezia Venice Film Festival in 2021. The widely premiered and screened film won three awards (best Nigerian film, best cinematography and best make up) at the 2023 edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).

This will be the third time a submission by the NOSC will not make it past the first stage of shortlist. Nigeria’s first submission at the 92nd Oscars Genevieve Nnaji’s ‘Lion Heart’ was disqualified at the first stage of shortlisting due to the predominant use of English dialogue. Nigeria’s 93rd Oscars entry “The Milkmaid’ did not make it to the Oscars shortlist. Eighty-Eight countries submitted entries for the best international feature film category by the close of submission on October 2, 2023. Of the African countries on the submission grid, Namibia submitted a film for the first time, and Burkina Faso made a submission for the first time since 1989. The 96th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 10, 2024.