Analysis: What Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Oscar loss could mean

Then there was the touching moment when his sister Zain Asher, a financial news reporter for CNN, broke down in tears when she heard he didn’t win, becoming emotional as she spoke about her brother and his years of hard work.Ejiofor, 36, was up against Matthew McConaughey (who went on to win), Christian Bale, Bruce […]

Then there was the touching moment when his sister Zain Asher, a financial news reporter for CNN, broke down in tears when she heard he didn’t win, becoming emotional as she spoke about her brother and his years of hard work.
Ejiofor, 36, was up against Matthew McConaughey (who went on to win), Christian Bale, Bruce Dern and Leonardo DiCaprio for the award, so it’s perfectly understandable if he does not win, given the high-wattage star power of his competitors. But his loss still paves a bright, smooth way for actors of African descent, especially in a year where the winners generally represent multi-ethnicity.
The earlier-mentioned heartfelt reaction by Ejiofor’s sister Zain surprised her colleagues – not least because many didn’t even know she was related to the actor. “This is a day my family has been hoping and waiting for, for such a long time,” she told fellow CNN host Carol Costello after the network got wind of the connection. “He’s been acting since he was thirteen years old, and he’s worked so hard for this.” But Ejiofor did win the Best Actor award at the 2014 Baftas (widely believed to be the British Oscars) for the same movie and that’s not a bad consolation. 
For a movie about slavery, directed by a black man, starring a predominantly black cast, to be as successful critically and commercially suggests that movie-makers of African descent (or indeed, from Africa) have increasingly better chances at success in today’s Hollywood. Also, who knows what the future will bring? He’s wrapped up work on the movie adaptation of fellow Nigerian Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s bestselling novel ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ and early screenings say he did a fantastic job.
If there’s any additional consolation to Ejiofor, it would have to stop at the Oscar nomination for now. But even that has its own benefits, as many nominees go on and have stellar careers, sometimes even winning an Oscar or two. Will he have that happy ending? It’s a question whose answer Nigerians – and indeed Africans – are certainly interested in hearing sometime soon.