IgbereTV reports that the Nigeria's 2020 Oscar entry 'LionHeart' was disqualified on Monday November 4, for having too much English dialogue.

The movie which is Nigeria's first-ever submission to the Academy Awards, was submitted for the international feature film Oscar category. The Academy's description of an international feature film "is a feature-length motion picture (defined as over 40 minutes) produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track."

LionHeart which is not excluded from entering other Oscar categories including consideration for best picture, has just under 12 minutes of dialogue that is in the Igbo language native to Southeastern Nigeria, while the remaining 94-minutes is in English. With the disqualification, the number of films in contention for the award has dropped from 93 to 92.

However reacting to the disqualification on Twitter, Genevieve Nnaji wrote;

"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." She added, "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."

American filmmaker who directed the Netflix drama miniseries When They See Us, Ava DuVernay also reacted to the disqualification. She tweeted;

"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?"

https://twitter.com/GenevieveNnaji1/status/1191502043388817411?s=19


http://igberetvnews.com/1112944/genevieve-reacts-lion-heart-movie-disqualification-oscar-consideration/

Take heart.... lionheart...by now u for dey enjoy ur own lionshare....sorry boo.

This is heartbreaking.
12 minutes of Igbo speaking is still an input , wonder if it was all Igbo language it would have been free from criticism.

In all, it's ok

I think the host read nairalanders comment

Take Heart sweetheart, the fact that your movie was considered at all is an achievement

English is our Official language, those officials nor well

The body responsible for the submission don't know the rules or criteria?

They are mad, no mind them jare.

We like am like that.

I love Genevieve but to be honest , that movie was mediocre .

Place it side by side with other movies submitted for best foreign language and it looks extremely bland .

Having 500 plus languages is no excuse .

The requirement for the category has always been clear ....best FOREIGN language .

No need to sensationalize and act pitiable .

A lot of countries are multi lingual but still manage to showcase their cultures and primary language.

Anyway she tried in the film

Kunle Afolayan's The Figurine would've been a perfect fit.

okorotalkative:
They are mad, no mind them jare.

We like am like that.

hahaha abi?

The Movie should've been 94mins igbo and 12MINS English.
She knew the rules, Why is she now crying foul play and sounding so pitable?

RULES ARE RULES WHY DID THE COMMITTEE SUBMITTED THE MOVIE IN THE FIRST PLACE?

THE RULE IS CLEARLY STATED IN THE CATEGORY IT WAS UP FOR THAT IT SHOULD BE MAINLY IN NON ENGLISH LANGUAGE..

lol...na wá óò...racist or what

she should have used pidgen

substandard stuffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff

siddon talk film wey nollywood dey do upaansan

Madam, stop talking nonsense. Pidgin is what connects all Nigerians, not English language.

So na English that conductor over there dey speak, abi?

It is well. You win some and loose some which makes the world go round. Madam take heart!!

babyfaceafrica:
she should have used pidgen

They too dey form educated

You either get disqualified, lose or win in every contest. Better luck next time.

This old cargo is a broke ugly olosho. No wonder at such age she is still single.
Husband snatcher

And i was complaining that the movie had too much igbo without subtitle.

Please nairalanders, I need 50k to pay my school fees and other charges.. Someone should help me please, this is not a scam. Gtbank 0153989965, Blessed

Mimirabelle4:

Which King of boys? The one I watched or another? If you are to be very honest that movie was horribly directed. Some scenes were not detailed & not to forget it was averagely financed to my taste.
King of boys, Lionheart, Chief Daddy are all average movies.

You are absolutely correct, a lot of scenes didn't quite add up. I felt in their bid to be unpredictable they totally lost the plot others just didn't make sense atall; Reminisce holding a lit cigarette in a place saturated with gasoline was one of those moments



King of boys is closest thing to a Hollywood blockbuster movie Nigeria has ever produced.