Controversial African film nominated for Best Foreign Language Oscar

Outside the Law

The controversial African film Outside the Law made it to the final five nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film. A record third time for the director, but I doubt if Rachid Bouchareb’s film can beat the Mexican film Biutiful by Alejandro González Iñárritu. "Biutiful" also got the lead actor Javier Bardem a nomination for Best Actor and tipped by top Hollywood stars to win the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film. Julia Roberts is in love with the movie.

Biutiful

"Biutiful" which is the humourous Spanish spelling of beautiful was in competition for the Palme d'Or at the last Cannes Film Festival where Bardem shared the Best Actor award with Elio Germano for Daniele Luchetti's "La Nostra Vita". It was the Best Foreign Language Film of 2010 at the 17th Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards and also nominated for the 64th British Academy Film Awards for Best Film not in the English Language and Javier Bardem getting another nomination for Best Actor.

The shortlisted films competing for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar are "Dogtooth," by Greece's Yorgos Lanthimos; "Algeria's "Outside the Law," directed by Rachid Bouchareb; "Incendies," from Canada's Denis Villeneuve; "In a Better World," by Denmark's Susanne Bier; and "Biutiful," by Mexico's Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.



Click here to see all Nominees for the 83rd Academy Awards.

Many foreign films had theatrical releases in North America in 2010. The notables included the French production “Babies”, “I am Love” from Italy and “The Secret in Their Eyes” from Argentina that won an Oscar last year. Sandy Mandelberger, a New York film Editor has a detailed report posted on Fest 21.

While some African countries have made it to the Foreign Language Film category of the Oscars, Nigeria has not even made it to the competition at the Cannes Film Festival, except in some minor international film festivals in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa. Nigeria boasts of Nollywood, the so called second largest movie industry in the world, but with nothing much to show for it, except the proliferation of substandard home videos circulated by pirates with impunity.

Jeta Amata’s "Amazing Grace", Stephanie Okereke’s "Through the Glass", Kunle Afolayan’s "The figurine (Araromire)" and Chineze Anyaene’s "IJÉ: The Journey" made so much buzz in the local media with claims of breaking box office records in Nigeria, but they have not even found major distributors in the US and Europe. Now Jeta Amata’s new film "Black Gold" and Mahmood Ali-Balogun’s "Tango with Me" are being hyped with great expectations and the only way to prove their worth is not pulling crowds at the few cinemas in Nigeria, but competing with the best at the Cannes and making the nominations for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy Awards. Until then, the best is yet to come in Nollywood.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima