EVEN though a local Oscars selection committee has since
February 2014 been constituted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts &
Sciences to select an entry that will best represent Nollywood in the Best
Foreign Language Film category for the annual Academy Awards, Nigeria did not
feature on the list of 83 countries that have submitted films for consideration
in that category of the prestigious award.
Chairman, Nigeria Oscars Selection Committee (NOSC),
Chineze Anyaene, confirmed during the week that though the selection committee
received a number of entries, none of them, according to her, "met the
basic criteria for selection'. The academy insists that entries for the foreign
language film category must be feature-length movie produced outside of the
U.S. with a predominantly non-English dialogue track and accurate English
subtitles. But according to Anyaene who produced and directed the commercially
successful movie Ije, most of the entries the committee received were
"either in English and some of those that were not in English were not
properly subtitled and quite a number of them were lacking in some technical
details".
For Anyaene and other members of the committee, what
matters to the committee is the selection and submission of a work that best
represents the country and not just to be counted among the countries with
entries at the Oscars. She noted, "We don't have to submit an entry if we
don't have a worthy entry. That explains why we are not among the 83 countries.
But it is not a bad situation. We are only a few months old as a committee of
the academy and it means that we need to prepare against next year and
subsequently. We are working on hosting a series of workshops in collaboration
with the regulatory agencies and relevant guilds and associations as well as
stakeholders so we can enlighten them on the expectation as far as this
category is concerned. But I'm optimistic we will have an entry next
year".
So, far 83 countries, including first-timers like
Mauritania, Kosovo, Panama and Malta - have reportedly submitted films for
consideration in the foreign-language film category for the 87th Academy
Awards. African countries like South Africa, Morocco and Ethiopia feature
prominently on the list of the 83 countries that have submitted entries.
However, only five nominations will be announced by the
academy on January 15, 2015. They will be announced along with contenders in
the other categories. But this will be after a short list of nine
foreign-language semi-finalists will have been announced.
Each year since 1956, countries through their selection
committees, determine films best suited for the Foreign Language category. The
process begins yearly with the national selection committee calling for entries
for the foreign language film category which must be feature-length movie
produced outside of the U.S. with a predominantly non-English dialogue track
and accurate English subtitles. Such films must have been released locally
before the period preceding the close of entry, which is usually end of
September yearly. Also such a film must be advertised and exploited during its
eligibility run in a manner considered normal and customary to the industry,
and it also need not have been released in the U.S. Though the academy makes
the final determination in all questions of eligibility, films, which, in any
version, receive a non-theatrical public exhibition or distribution before
their first qualifying theatrical release will not be eligible for Academy
Award consideration.
Ntshavheni wa Luruli's film, Elelwani, was listed as South
Africa's official entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category. The
movie, which explores the Tshivenda culture in detail and stars the 2013 Africa
Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) best actress Florence Masebe and Vusi Kunene, tells
the story of Elelwani and her boyfriend who returns home after university to
tell Elelwani's family of their plans to marry and travel the world together.
They are met with major challenges, as her father wants her to be the wife of
the local king.
Elelwani first premiered at the Durban International Film
Festival (DIFF). It made the official selection at the 63rd Berlin
International Film Festival, the Pan African Film and Television Festival at
Ouagadougou and at the Luxor International Film Festival in 2013. Also, the
movie was awarded the prize for best production design and acting at the 2013
AMAA in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State.
If Elelwani makes the academy
top five in the foreign language category, it will be the third film that has
represented South Africa at the Oscars. The others are Yesterday and Tsotsi,
which won the Academy Award in 2006 and was nominated for the Golden Globe for
Best Foreign Language Film. The 87th Academy Awards will be held on February
22, 2015 at the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center in Hollywood,
California.
By Shaibu Husseini
Source: All Africa
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