Oscar-nominated director Ava DuVernay is speaking out on behalf of the film "Lionheart" after news broke that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences had disqualified the film from the best international feature Oscars race because the movie's predominant language is English.
However, on Tuesday, the Academy clarified that although the category's name changed this past April -- previously it was known as the best foreign language film -- it maintained the same qualifications and intent, which, according to their statement, is "to recognize accomplishment in films created outside of the United States in languages other than English."
"As this year’s submitted films were evaluated, we discovered that Lionheart includes only 11 minutes of non-English dialogue, which makes it ineligible for this award category," the statement concluded.
DuVernay, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2017 for the documentary "13th," tweeted, "You disqualified Nigeria’s first-ever submission for Best International Feature because its in English. But English is the official language of Nigeria. Are you barring this country from ever competing for an Oscar in its official language?"
To @TheAcademy, You disqualified Nigeria’s first-ever submission for Best International Feature because its in English. But English is the official language of Nigeria. Are you barring this country from ever competing for an Oscar in its official language? https://t.co/X3EGb01tPF
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) November 4, 2019
"Lionheart," which is available on Netflix, stars Genevieve Nnaji as Adaeze, a woman who takes over her father's company, which is ruled by a group of men, including her incompetent uncle.
Nnaji, who also directed the film, took to Twitter to address the Academy's disqualification and thank DuVernay for speaking out.
"I am the director of Lionheart," she wrote. "This movie represents the way we speak as Nigerians. This includes English which acts as a bridge between the 500+ languages spoken in our country; thereby making us #OneNigeria. @TheAcademy."
She continued, "It’s no different to how French connects communities in former French colonies. We did not choose who colonized us. As ever, this film and many like it, is proudly Nigerian. @TheAcademy."
1/1 1/2 Thank you so much @ava❤️.
— Genevieve Nnaji MFR (@GenevieveNnaji1) November 4, 2019
I am the director of Lionheart. This movie represents the way we speak as Nigerians. This includes English which acts as a bridge between the 500+ languages spoken in our country; thereby making us #OneNigeria. @TheAcademy https://t.co/LMfWDDNV3e
2/2 It’s no different to how French connects communities in former French colonies. We did not choose who colonized us. As ever, this film and many like it, is proudly Nigerian. @TheAcademy https://t.co/LMfWDDNV3e
— Genevieve Nnaji MFR (@GenevieveNnaji1) November 4, 2019
ABC News' Lesley Messer contributed to this report.
