Genevieve Nnaji’s movie ‘Lionheart’ has been selected by the Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee (NOSC) for the International Feature Film category of the 2020 Oscars.
Since the inauguration of the NOSC in 2014, ‘Lionheart’ marks the first time Nigeria will be submitting a film to the Oscars.
The Nollywood star had her film picked through a statutory vetting and subsequent voting of entries received from Nigerian filmmakers at home and in the diaspora.
According to the chairman of the newly installed 12-man committee, Chineze Anyaene, entries received this year show significant improvement from previous years, as the previous entries received by the committee have failed to meet the basic criteria.
‘Lionheart,’ which premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), was produced by Chinny Onwugbenu, Chichi Nwoko, and Genevieve Nnaji. It was directed by Genevieve Nnaji.
The film, which was acquired on September 7, 2018, has also been accepted as the first Netflix original film produced in Nigeria.
Lionheart features an array of Nollywood stars, e.g., Pete Edochie, Genevieve Nnaji, Nkem Owoh, Onyeka Onwenu, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Chika Okpala, Kalu Ikeagwu, Sanni Mu’azu, Yakubu Mohammed, and Ngozi Ezeonu.