Actor Deyemi Okanlawon has penned down a message to filmmakers Mo Abudu and Kunle Afolayan following a conclusion by the Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) for the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences to retained its decision not to submit a film for the 2023 Oscars after reconvening to make a final determination regarding a submission to the International Feature Film category for the 95th Academy Awards.
Led by Chineze Anyaene-Abonyi, NOSC is responsible for submitting a Nigerian film in the IFF category of the Oscars.
Anyaene-Abonyi presided over the meeting held on Thursday, October 20, a day before the expiration of a one-week extension given by the Oscars for Nigeria to submit a film for the awards.
However, instead of calling for a revote as some Nollywood stakeholders had expected, the chairperson simply asked committee members to answer yes or no if they wanted to upload the rules of the NOSC.
The meeting ended with the committee retaining its earlier decision not to submit a film for the 2023 Oscars.
Mo Abudu and Biyi Bandele’s Elesin Oba: The King’s Horseman, Kunle Afolayan’s Anikulapo and Femi Adebayo’s King of Thieves – made it to the final for selection for the 2023 Oscars.
The NOSC, however, announced in September that no film will be submitted for the Oscars after five of its 15 members voted for Elesin Oba and one member each for Anikulapo and King of Thieves.
In a tweet to Mo Abudu and Kunle on Sunday, Deyemi encouraged the filmmakers, describing their films as a ‘masterpiece’.
He wrote: “My dear Aunty @MoAbudu and Ebgon @kunleafolayan if I feel this way I can only imagine how you feel… #ElesinOba and #Anikulapo were both truly masterpieces in visual storytelling! Pls remember that as filmmakers your best is yet to come and we will all rise above this #Oscars.”
