Lionheart, a film directed by Genevieve Nnaji has been disqualified from the Oscar’s for having too much English Dialogue.
According to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, this is contrary to the rule that governs the category in which Lionheart was nominated: Best International Feature film, which states that entries must have “a predominantly non-English dialogue track”.
The Academy made this known in an email sent to voters ahead of the screening.
However, this has sparked a lot of reactions from celebrities all around the world.
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Prolific Hollywood Director Ava Duvernay has expressed her disappointment in a tweet, saying it is unfair that Nigeria’s entry would get disqualified because of English language which is the country’s official language.
To @TheAcademy, You disqualified Nigeria’s first-ever submission for Best International Feature because its 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? Ava Duvernay tweeted
Lionheart is the first ever entry Nigeria will be submitting for the Oscars. It starred Genevieve Nnaji who is acclaimed to be Nigeria’s version of talented Actress, Julia Roberts.