One of the notable films get a THUMBS UP on Netflix is an AFRICAN FILM IN ENGLISH. African films rarely attract attention from international awards voters.
Afraid of REALNESS in African Films at the OSCARS?
- Papicha — confronts female oppression through the realm of fashion
- Knuckle City — a robust boxing crime drama deep into themes of sporting ambition, corruption, poverty and toxic masculinity
- Dear Son — middle-class couple forced to come to terms with the fact their son has joined ISIS
- Atlantics — disorientating blend of supernatural imagery and socio-political commentary
- Lionheart — a crowd-pleasing story of female empowerment directed by actress Genevieve Nnaji
- Teza — film on Ethiopia's brutal past wins African Oscar
Senegal has a strong chance of a nomination this year with Atlantics.
The first film by a black female director ever to play in Cannes Competition, Atlantics took home the grand prize followed by the Sutherland prize for a debut feature at BFI London Film Festival and an honorable mention at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
Netflix announced its acquisition of worldwide rights on Atlantics.
The disqualification of a Nigerian movie from the Oscar's Best International Film category has triggered a wave of criticism in the African country, home to the world's second-largest film industry.
The Academy on Monday ruled out the movie Lionheart — the first Netflix original film to be made in Nigeria, the first work that Nigeria has submitted to the Oscars, for having been shot mostly in English
The last time a film representing an African country won this category was South Africa’s “Tsotsi,” by Gavin Hood, Oscars in 2006.
Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project, which teamed with the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers earlier this year to create the African Film Heritage Project. It’s designed to locate, restore, and preserve 50 African cinema classics and make them available to audiences around the world.
