96th Oscars: Nigerian Selection Committee Calls For Submissions

The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) for the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has called on Nigerian filmmakers to submit their feature films for consideration.

The filmmakers are expected to enter their films in the International Feature Film (IFF) category of the 96th Annual Academy Awards (Oscars).

The AMPAS officially recognises the NOSC and will choose one film as the country’s official submission for the IFF Award.

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The portal, according to the committee, is open for submissions from 28 August 2023 to 15 September on thenosc.org.

The IFF Award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains 50 per cent or more in a language or languages other than English.

The Academy Awards requires that submitted films meet other criteria, including accurate, legible English subtitles, shooting formats, and theatrical releases – details of which are available on the NOSC website.

Nigeria attained the first feat at the Academy with the country’s submission, The Milkmaid. The film was ratified by the Executive Committee of the IFF, having passed the eligibility test before failing to make it past the first shortlist category.

In 2019, Nigeria’s official submission, Genevieve Nnaji’s Lionheart movie, was disqualified for not meeting the non-English dialogue criteria.

It led to the controversy on whether or not Nigerian pidgin should not be considered a local language.