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In October this year, the movie was listed among other 92 international films in the “International Feature Film” category for the 2020 Oscars but it says the movie did not meet its rules for international feature film submissions.
It was disqualified on Monday, November 4, because it contained ‘too much English dialogue’.
The action received a backlash from Genevieve Nnaji, American actress Ava DuVernay, industry players as well as Twitter users.
Academy's rules for the international feature film category states that ‘an international film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (defined as over 40 minutes) produced outside the United States of America with a predominantly non-English dialogue track.’
“Lionheart” has just under 12 minutes of dialogue that is in the Igbo language native to Southeastern Nigeria, while the rest of the 94-minute pic is in English, according to Hollywood Reporter.
The film is not excluded from entering other Oscar categories, including consideration for “Best Picture”.
Nnaji took to Twitter on Monday to say, "This movie represents the way we speak as Nigerians. This includes English which acts as a bridge between the 500+ languages spoken in our country; thereby making us #OneNigeria." She added, "It’s no different to how French connects communities in former French colonies. We did not choose who colonized us. As ever, this film and many like it, is proudly Nigerian."
DuVernay also slammed the decision in a tweet, saying "To @TheAcademy, You disqualified Nigeria’s first-ever submission for Best International Feature because its in English. But English is the official language of Nigeria. Are you barring this country from ever competing for an Oscar in its official language?"
"Lionheart" is Nigeria's first-ever submission to the Academy Awards. Nnaji stars alongside Peter Edochie and Nkem Owoh in the film, which she also co-wrote with her producing partner Chinny Onwugbenu.
"Lionheart" premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix for worldwide distribution.