These are the African Films That Could be up for an Oscar

On December 21, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced the shortlist of potential nominees for the 2024 Best International Feature Film category.

An image from 'Goobye Julia' of two women sitting next to each other talking.

A still from the film Goodbye Julia.

Photo courtesy RMG-PR.

Updated:The Mother of All Lies from a Moroccan director and Four Daughters from Tunisia have both made it to the shortlist of the Oscars Best International Feature Film category, while Bobi Wine: The People’s President about the Ugandan pop star/politician is shortlisted for the Best Documentary category.

Last year, only one African film made it onto the list of nominees for the Oscars Best International Feature Film category – Morocco’s The Blue Caftan, directed by Maryam Touzani. It may be another tough year for African films to break through and land one or two nominations in this category, what with much of the attention going to films like The Zone of Interest, selected by the U.K., The Taste of Things, selected by France, and Japan’s Perfect Days.

Every year countries submit a feature-length film produced in that country that they consider to be most eligible for an Oscar nomination. The decision on what to submit is usually made by a film body that votes amongst itself after criteria are met — namely that the film was made outside the U.S., screened theatrically and is mostly not in English.

This year, there are a number of films made by African directors that deserved a spot on the shortlist — announced on December 21. Certainly, the bold vision that informs C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi’s Mami Wata would make the black and white Nigerian film a thrilling addition to the list, as would the tenderness that guides Mohamed Kordofani’s tense Sudanese drama Goodbye Julia or the detailed inventiveness of Asmae El Moudir’s Moroccan documentary, Morocco: The Mother Of All Lies.

These films are among the 90-odd that have been submitted by countries all over the world, ahead of next year’s ceremony in March. Also included in the list of potential nominees is Baloji’s Augere (Omen) — the first time an African filmmaker has represented Belgium. Baloji’s home country, the DRC, did not submit a film for consideration.

There are only 15 spots on the shortlist, with the five nominees for the category being announced on January 23. Last year, eight African countries submitted films for consideration. This year, there are 11. Here are the films that were submitted for the shortlist:

Burkina Faso: 'Sira' – Apolline Traoré

When Apolline Traoré’s film debuted at the Berlinale earlier this year, Sira received top praise, including from Screen Daily, which called it “a punchy, visually potent story of survival and revenge.” The film, which is set in the Sahel, and is a co-production between Burkina Faso, Senegal, France and Germany, has earned Traoré acclaim from Fespaco, Toronto and other film festivals where it has played. Its story of a brave young Fulani woman who takes a stand against radical Islamist terror has been lauded by those who’ve seen it.

Cameroon: 'Half Heaven' – Enah Johnscott

Enah Johnscott is familiar with the process of submitting to the Oscars since he first did so in 2020 with his previous film, The Fisherman’s Diary, which won multiple Africa Movie Academy Awards. This year, the Cameroon Film Industry board of delegates selected his latest feature, Half Heaven, to represent the country. The film is set in Mboko and revolves around a preacher who has a life-changing meeting with a sex worker.

Egypt: 'Voy! Voy! Voy!' – Omar Hilal

VOY! VOY! VOY! Theatrical trailer from Omar Hilal on Vimeo.

Translated from Spanish, Voy! Voy! Voy! means “Here I Come!” and it’s what the blind footballers in writer-director Omar Hilal’s debut feature film call out to avoid running into one another. The Egyptian filmmaker, who also produced the movie, explores migration through the lens of a somewhat true story, in which a security guard pretends not to be able to see so that he can travel overseas and play in the Blind Football World Cup. The film is billed as a dark comedy, and according to Variety, it held the top box office spot in Egypt for two months.

Kenya: 'Mvera' – Daudi Anguka

In making Mvera, Daudi Anguka looked to the Giriama of Kenya to create his titular character. Inspired loosely by independence activist Mekatilili Wa Menza, Anguka’s hero, Mvera (played by Linah Sande) takes up the mission of fighting corrupt leaders in her coastal community outside Mombasa. The Swahili-language film is the Kenyan filmmaker’s debut feature, but his short film, titled Zilizala, earned Best Indigenous Language Movie at the 2017 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards.

Morocco: 'The Mother Of All Lies' – Asmae El Moudir

Asmae El Moudir’s clever use of model figurines to uncover the impact of the 1981 Bread Riots in Casablanca on her family members earned her both the directing prize and documentary prize at Cannes. It also scored best documentary at the Durban Film Festival, among other awards. The Mother of All Lies was chosen by the Moroccan Film Center as the country’s submission for its blend of documentary and drama.

Namibia: 'Under the Hanging Tree' – Perivi Katjavivi

This is a big move for the fledgling Namibian film industry – for the first time ever, the country has put its hat in the ring with its submission to the international feature film category. Under the Hanging Tree is the third feature by Perivi Katjaviv, one of the country’s handful of established filmmakers. It made its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in January 2023, and uses the genre of noir to look back at Namibia’s colonial past. The film borrows from Herero mythology as it tells the story of a police officer who must solve a perplexing case.

Nigeria: 'Mami Wata' - C.J. Obasi

Nigeria has only recently started entering films for Oscar submission, but it’s not been without its hiccups. In 2019, Lionheart was disqualified because there was too much English in the film. The Academy has since made the decision to accept films in Pidgin English, making Mami Wata eligible. It received the highest number of votes from the Nigerian Oscar Selection Committee, which praised the film for its artistic and technical feats, and said it’s an example of the kind of work Nigerian filmmakers should strive to make. Inspired by West African mermaid folklore, the film stars Rita Edochie and Uzoamaka Aniunoh.

Tunisia: 'Four Daughters' – Kaouther Ben Hania

Kaouther Ben Hania has been on this ride before: in 2021, her film The Man Who Sold His Skin, landed Tunisia its first Oscar nomination. She’s aiming to be back in the mix with her followup, Four Daughters (Les Filles D’Olfa), a film that merges documentary with dramatic elements of reenactment to unravel the story of a mother whose two daughters join Isis. It shared the documentary prize at Cannes with The Mother of All Lies.

Senegal: 'Banel & Adama' – Ramata-Toulaye Sy

Another history-making African director, Ramata-Toulaye Sy took her debut feature, Banel & Adama to Cannes, where it competed for the fest’s main prize, the Palme d’Or. The French Senegalese filmmaker put herself on the cinematic map with her film, a dreamy interrogation of love and familial duty as it tells the story of a young would-be chief of his village who has to decide where his loyalty lies – with his people or the woman he loves? In a statement, Senegal's National Oscars Selection Committee said it selected the film for “its unique approach, technical and artistic excellence, and its relevant themes: women's roles in traditional African societies and the effects of climate change on community well-being."

South Africa: 'Music is My Life – Dr. Joseph Shabalala and Ladysmith Black Mambazo' – Mpumi Mbele

Although documentaries made by or involving South Africans have fared well at the Oscars in recent years (see: Searching for Sugar Man in 2013 and My Octopus Teacher in 2020), it’s very rare for a documentary to be nominated as the country’s submission for this Oscars category. This year’s entry is a music doc, to boot, and dives into the life of one of the country’s most revered musicians, the late Joseph Shabala, who was the founder of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Directed by Phumelelo Mbele, it uses interviews and song recreations to show the enduring legacy the late musician has left behind.

Sudan: 'Goodbye Julia' – Mohamed Kordofani

Mohamed Kordofani’s debut feature film is the country’s second-ever international feature film submission. Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o came on board to lend her weight to the film as an executive producer, saying in a statement that it, “is a powerful representation of the conflict happening in Sudan right now, which affects millions of lives across Eastern Africa. Mohamed Kordofani and the filmmakers present the issues in a beautiful, deeply personal way. I’m honored to lend my voice to help bring this film’s message to the world.”

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