By Patience Chat Moses
The Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are set of awards dedicated to movie industry. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), in recognition of excellence in cinematic achievements as assessed by the Academy’s voting membership. The Academy Awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious and significant awards in the entertainment industry, both within the United States and throughout the world.
The Oscar statuette depicts a knight rendered in the Art Deco style, and the first award ceremony took place in Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on 16th May, 1929, two years after the Academy was founded in 1927. It lasted for 15 minutes and was aired through the radio.
This year’s OSCARS AWARDS is the 95th Academy Award of Merit, which took place at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on March 12, with Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” winning the Best Picture Award, while six others won awards for Best Actor in Supporting Role (Ke Huy Quan), Best Actress in Leading Role (Michelle Yeoh), Best Actress in Supporting Role (Jamie Lee Curtis), Best Directing Award (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Best Film Editing (Paul Rodgers) and Best Writing/Original Screenplay (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert).
Brendan Fraser in “The Whale” got the award for Best Actor in Leading Role, while that of Best Animated Feature Film was received by Guillermo del Toro for “Pinocchio” and Best Cinematography Award went to James Freud’s “All Quiet on the Western Front.”
The Award for Best Costume Design was received by Ruth Carter for the film “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” and Best Documentary Short Film Award was taken home by Kartiki and Monga for the film “The Elephant Whisperers” leaving the award for Best Documentary Feature Film to “Navalny” by Daniel Roger and Odessa Rae.
German Movie “All Quiet on the Western Front” received the award for Best International Feature Film, Best Music (Original Score) and Best Production Design.
Morot and Bradley’s “ The Whale “ got the award for Best Make-Up and Hairstyling, with Letteri and Baneham’s “ Avatar: The Way of Water” getting that of Best Visual Effect.
Best Music Award for Original Song was received by M.M Keeravaani for the song “Naatu Naatu” in “RRR,” ridding Nigerian singer, Tems, of the chance to get an award for the song “Lift Me Up,” written in collaboration with Rihanna and others.
The award for Best Animated Short Film was taken by Mackey and Freud’s “ The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse.”
“An Irish Goodbye” by Tom Berkeley and Ross White received the award for Best Live Action Short Film and the award for the Best Sound Track was gotten by Weingartend and Mathew’s “Top Gun: Marverick.”
Sarah Polley recieved the Award for the Best Writing for adapted screenplay in the movie “Women Talking.”
Artists who performed at the OSCAR AWARDS came as performers and potential awardees. The songs performed were nominated under the Best Music (Original Song) category and performed by the artists who sang the songs, though with some exceptions. Rihanna performed “Lift Me Up.” Sofia Carson and Diane Warren performed “Applause,” an original score for the movie” Tell It Like a Woman,” while Rahul and Kaala performed the buzzy number, “Naatu Naatu,” the original song in the movie “RRR” that won the award in the Best Original Song category.
Then, although Lady Gaga initially was not going to show up for her performance, she eventually came and did her Oscar nominated song “Hold my Hand” in the movie “Top Gun: Marverick.”
Temilade Openiyi aka Tems became the first Nigerian artiste to be nominated for Oscar Award in 2023. This was revealed in the 2023 nomination list released by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Twitter handle. She received the Best Original Song nomination for her collaboration with Rihanna on the song ‘Lift Me Up.’ The duo was nominated in the ‘Best Original Song’ category.
‘Lift Me Up’ was one of Marvel’s ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ soundtracks. Rihanna co-wrote the soulful song with Tems and the music was produced by Ludwig Göransson, and directed by Ryan Coogler.
The singer’s nomination was exciting for her fans as it came barely a week after famous American rapper, Snoop Dogg, asked to work with her. She had also just won her first GRAMMY AWARD when the news of the nomination came, causing euphoria among her fans and other Nigerians.
Tems’ appearance at the ceremony was also another topic of discussion on social media platforms, days after the event. The “sculptural gown” by Ukrainian born designer of Lever Couture was said to have blocked the view of other spectators at the event. Fans however still maintained that she still looked glamorous and elegant.
The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced that no movie was submitted by Nigeria’s Nollywood for the 2023 Oscars Awards. This will be the second year at a stretch that Nigeria will not be submitting a movie for the International Feature Film Category of the Oscars.
The Chairperson, Mrs Chineze Anyaene-Abonyi, who spoke to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), expressed regret that the committee could not find any movie that met the eligibility criteria for the International Feature Film Category.
The voting, which took place on the 3rd of September, 2022, amongst the 15 Members of the Committee had a voting chart of 8, 5, 1, 1, with “No Film is Eligible” taking the lead.
In 2020, the movie titled ‘The Milkmaid’ was submitted, and despite passing the eligibility test for the first time, the Desmond Ovbiagele-produced movie was cut off after it failed to make the first shortlist in the category. Also in 2019, Genevieve Nnaji’s “Lionheart” was disqualified by the Oscars for not meeting the non-English dialogue criteria.
This notwithstanding, many people believe there is great hope for the Nigerian movie industry, and that someday it will rise to stardom. So far, our artists are already making global impact in the music industry and that’s a great leap for the country.