Why not ‘King of Boys’?
…Reactions trail ‘Lionheart’ Oscars nomination Some Nigerians think Kemi Adetiba’s ‘King of Boys’ stands a better chance of winning the Oscars than Genevieve’s ‘Lionheart.’ On Wednesday, October 2, 2019, Genevieve Nnaji’s 2018 movie, ‘Lionheart,’ was picked by the Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee (NOSC) to represent the country in the International Feature Film category of the […]
- …Reactions trail ‘Lionheart’ Oscars nomination
Some Nigerians think Kemi Adetiba’s ‘King of Boys’ stands a better chance of winning the Oscars than Genevieve’s ‘Lionheart.’
On Wednesday, October 2, 2019, Genevieve Nnaji’s 2018 movie, ‘Lionheart,’ was picked by the Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee (NOSC) to represent the country in the International Feature Film category of the 2020 Oscars.
‘Lionheart,’ which premiered last year at the Toronto International Film Festival appears to have met the NOSC’s criteria which includes originality, good directing, acting, cinematography and sound. Also, the recording of the original dialogue track, as well as the completed picture, should be predominantly in a language other than English.
However, reactions have continued to trail the announcement on social media as Nigerians air their views. There seems to be a comparison between ‘Lionheart’ and ‘King of Boys,’ a political thriller written, co-produced and directed by Kemi Adetiba. A Twitter user, Enkaynjama pointed this and TjaniTyt had this to say: “Lionheart isn’t a bad movie but ‘King of Boys’ ran for three hours and still had me wanting more.”
But Ugochi Anthony, obviously irritated by the bickering, said “a good filmmaker should know better. No need to argue with people with little or no knowledge,” and went on to share another’s opinion that Nigerians are funny to think that ‘King of Boys’ should be submitted for the Oscar.
According to one Win, “‘Lionheart’ is the only Nigerian film I watched this year worth the Oscar nomination. It’s a different script from the normal Nollywood script.”
To counter any argument, Ekitikan pointed out that ‘Lionheart’ is a “lovely movie” but he will pick ‘King of Boys’ over it because it addresses “majority of our problems as individuals and as a nation.”
Some Nigerians even went as far as calling for a vote in the form of retweets and likes for both movies. However, some have described the argument as baseless and advised fans to support the nomination regardless, being that a Nigerian film has finally made it to the Oscars.
The NOSC’s 12-man team, chaired by Chineze Anyaene, a producer and director, with Mahmood Ali-Balogun, Chairman of the Audio-Visual Rights Society (AVRS) of Nigeria as Vice chairman, said it picked ‘Lionheart’ for its considerable shot at the rules.
Produced by Genevieve Nnaji, Chinny Onwugbenu and Chichi Nwoke, and directed by Nnaji, ‘Lionheart’ boasts of stars like Onyeka Onwenu, Pete Edochie, Kanayo O. Kanayo, Peter Okoye, Sanni Mu’azu, Yakubu Mohammed, Bhibuzor Azubuike (Phyno) and Nnaji herself.
‘Lionheart’ tells the story of a young and intelligent woman, Adaeze Obiagu (Nnaji) who gets to run her father’s company, amid great challenges, while he lies in his sick bed.
In ‘King of Boys,’ Alhaja Eniola Salami, a businesswoman and philanthropist with a shady past and a promising future is loved by many and feared by most in her society. She is soon drawn into a power struggle that threatens everything she holds dear.
Like the former, ‘King of Boys’ also has an intriguing line-up of stars such as Jide Kosoko, Adesua Etomi, Ill Bliss, Toni Tones, Sani Mu’azu, Sola Sobowale and several more.
This is the first time Nigeria is having a shot at the Oscars since previous entries have been unable to meet basic criteria. Last year, 87 countries contested in the International Feature Film category and ‘Roma,’ a Mexican film won the award.