Following the internal crisis, and the back and forth that has rocked The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC), it is now official that no Nigerian film will be submitted for the International Feature Film (IFF) category for the Oscars 2023.
No Nigerian Film Will Be Submitted For The Oscars
All of this is coming after the NOSC reached a ‘No Revote’ verdict, despite the intervention of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, organizers of the Oscars, who extended its submission deadline to allow the committee members to reconvene possibly to revote.
In a leaked video which was recorded on Thursday, October 20, 2022, the committee voted nine-six in favour of protecting the initial votes of September 3, 2022.
Members of the fifteen-member committee who wanted a ‘No Revote’ includes the chairperson, Chineze Anyaene-Abonyi, Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Stephanie Linus, Bruce Ayonote, Adetokunbo Odubawo, Izu Ojukwu, Yibo Koko, Meg Otanwa and John Njamah.
While Mahmood Ali-Balogun, the committee’s vice chairperson, Mildred Okwo, Shaibu Husseini, Ego Boyo, Moses Babatope, and Kenneth Gyang wanted a ‘Revote’
In the long now deleted leaked video, a number of shocking allegations of bribery and intense lobbying were sighted as major reasons for the current unrest.
If you would recall, in a statement released by NOSC in September, the committee voted for three films, EbonyLife’s Elesin Oba, Kunle Afolayan’s Anikulapo and Femi Adebayo’s produced King of Thieves.
While eight members voted for ‘nil submission’, five reportedly voted for Elesin Oba with the remaining films splitting the votes one-one.
Just so you know, since the committee’s crisis, at least three of its members which includes, including Mildred Okwo, Shaibu Husseini and Kenneth Gyang have announced their resignation.
See the video below for more!
