First Nigerian Original Film Lionheart Disqualifies for Oscar 

The first-ever Nigerian original film Lionheart has been disqualified for Oscar’s category Best International Feature Film due to it’s beyond allowed usage of English dialogues.

“Films in the category must be produced outside the United States with a predominantly non-English dialogue track, according to the Academy’s rules,” said the statement by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The film, first-ever Nigerian original film that had been streaming on Netflix consists of 12 minutes of Igbo language, Nigeria’s native tongue and 95 minutes of English – official language of the country.

https://youtu.be/PEC5ygPbUaA

Director and actress Genevieve Nnaji has expressed disappointment over The Academy’s decision.