OSCARS 2022: TEN AFRICAN FILMS SUBMITTED IN THE CATEGORY OF BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM

Ten African films submitted in the category of best international film, Nigeria is absent. Despite the growth of the African audiovisual sector noted in recent years. The continent’s film productions continue to struggle to establish themselves at international festivals, including the Oscars. By 2021, 12 out of 54 countries had submitted their applications. It was a record.

For the 94th Academy Awards, which will take place in March 2022, 10 African countries have so far submitted their nominations for the Best International Film category. This category rewards films produced outside the United States, with dialogues or scripts exclusively or mainly non-English.

For this edition, North Africa will be represented by Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. These are the films « Héliopolis » by Djaffar Gacem for Algeria; Ayten Amin’s “Souad” for Egypt; « High and strong » by Nabil Ayouch for Morocco and « Golden Butterfly » by Abdelhamid Bouchnak for Tunisia.

Sub-Saharan Africa has six nominations, one less than last year. These are the Somali film « The Gravedigger’s Wife » by Khadar Ayderus Ahmed, « Hidden Dreams » by Cameroonian Ngang Romanus, « Lingui, les ties sacrés » by Chadian Mahamat-Saleh Haroun, « Barakat » by South African Amy Jephta, the Malawian film « Fatsani – A Tale of Survival » by Gift Sukez Sukali and the Kenyan film « Mission to Rescue » by Gilbert Lukalia.

Note the remarkable absence of Nigeria, which had made a feat in 2020 with the film « The Milkmaid », after the disqualification of the film « Lionheart » by Genevieve Nnaji in 2019 for not having met the language requirement.
As a reminder, last October, the Nigerian official selection committee announced the cancellation of the country’s plan to participate in the 2022 Oscars, in particular because of the fact that the films received for screening « did not comply with the rules of eligibility set by the Academy ”.

Sandrine Ndoumbe