The Film Academy Disqualifies 'Lionheart', Nigeria's First-Ever Entry For Best International Film

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has disqualified Nigeria's "Lionheart" as the nation's contender for the Oscar in the Best International Feature Film category.

The film, directed by and starring award-winning Nigerian actress Genevieve Nnaji, was initially one of 92 films submitted in the category. But the film was withdrawn Monday after the Academy ruled that it didn't meet the requirements for the award.

Films in the category must be produced outside the United States with a predominantly non-English dialogue track, according to the Academy's rules.

Most of "Lionheart" is in English with just under 12 minutes of dialogue in the Igbo language, primarily spoken in eastern Nigeria, making it ineligible to the Oscar category.

"Lionheart," Nigeria's first Netflix original film, is about a Nigerian woman named Adaeze, portrayed by Nnaji, trying to keep her family's transportation business together.