Why Was 'Lionheart' Disqualified From This Oscar Category?

A Nigerian movie, titled “Lionheart,” was submitted to the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, asking to be considered for an Oscar in the category Best International Film. It was suddenly disqualified from the category.

According to The Wrap, 93 films were competing for the award. But now, there are 92 after “Lionheart” was disqualified for being mostly in English. To be considered in this category a film has to have “a predominantly non-English dialogue track.” The Los Angeles Times reported that about 84 minutes of the 95-minute film is in English.

“Lionheart” is available to be streamed on Netflix. “Running a company can be challenging, especially if you are a female in a male-dominated industry. Looking to prove her worth, Adaeze steps up to the challenge when her father is forced to take a step back due to health issues,” is the plot described by IMDb.

The film was directed by Genevieve Nnaji and also stars Nnaji along with Nkem Owoh and Pete Edochie.

On Monday, an email was sent out to members of The Academy announcing the elimination of “Lionheart.”

Director Ava DuVernay of Netflix’s popular miniseries “When They See Us” was not happy about the decision. She took to Twitter to say, “To @TheAcademy, You disqualified Nigeria’s first-ever submission for Best International Feature because it's 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?”

Nnaji responded to DuVernay with two tweets. “Thank you so much @ava. I am the director of Lionheart. 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.”

Her second tweet 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.”

Even though “Lionheart” will not be allowed to compete in Best International Film, it will still be eligible for other Oscar categories. Nominations will be announced on Jan. 13.