Following the crisis that has engulfed the Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) for the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) after it announced last month that no Nigerian film was eligible for the 2023 Oscars, the Directors Guild of Nigeria (DGN) has advised filmmakers to produce quality films.
NOSC became divided after it announced in September that it would not submit a film for the International Feature Film category for the 95th Academy Awards.
The crisis led to the resignation of three members of the Chineze Anyaene-Abonyi-led committee, with vice chairman Mahmood Ali-Balogun writing a petition to the Oscars.
The Academy intervened via a letter dated October 14, asking the committee to reconvene and make a final determination regarding a submission to the International Feature Film category for the 95th Academy Awards.
However, in another letter dated October 16 addressed to the International Feature Film Executive Committee of the Oscars, Anyaene-Abonyi requested clarification on whether it was mandatory that countries must submit a film every year.
She also asked if the request came from Ali-Balogun who she said did not copy the NOSC in all his correspondences with the Academy.
According to News Agency of Nigeria on Tuesday, DGN national president Victor Okhai who weighed in on the matter, advised against the recent media exchanges within the NOSC and Nollywood filmmakers.
Mr Okhai stated that the crisis has generated concern among Nigerians over the country’s lack of representation at the 2023 Oscars.
According to him, the desire to win an Oscar has led to filmmakers taking different approaches to their craft instead of ensuring that the production meets the requirements.
“National interests should take precedence over personal interests, as the Oscar is not the beginning and end of the world. Nigerian filmmakers should focus on making good films and avoid dragging ourselves before the Oscars,” he said.
“Nigerian filmmakers approach their craft differently because they are all driven by the desire to win the Oscars. They do this, rather than by the need to ensure that the films they submit to the International Feature Film (IFF) category of the Academy Awards are technically and artistically up to par,” the director added.
Speaking further, Okahi said: “The Oscars will find us at the right time if we focus more on the work that we do. The recognition that we get from the work that we do is far more valuable than any validation that will come from any external source.”
Qed.ng reported that the Association of Movie Producers (AMP) also tried to intervene in the matter before the Academy granted a one-week extension in its October 14 letter copied to Anyaene-Abonyi and Ali-Balogun.
In an October 9 letter seen by Qed.ng and signed by its president Peace Anyiam Osigwe and national secretary Baba Agba, the association asked the NOSC to reconsider its decision not to submit a Nigerian film for the Oscars.
