95th Oscars: Stephanie Linus, Kenneth Gyang Become New Voting Members of NOSC

Following its recent call on Nigerian producers to enter their films for the International Feature Film (IFF) category in the 2023 edition of the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) otherwise called the Oscars, the Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) added four new members into its jury, bringing the voting members to 15.

The new members include notable advocacy filmmaker, Stephanie Linus (‘Through the Glass’, ‘Dry’); award-winning filmmaker, Keneth Gyang (‘Oloture’, ‘Confusion Na Wa’);  Actor/Director John Njamah (‘Fuji House of Commotion’, ‘Tinsel’); and Actress/Polyglot, Meg Otanwa (‘October 1’, ‘Hush’).

Last year, two prominent members of the film industry in Nigeria also joined the Committee. They include Omotola, a voting member of the Academy since 2018 and Izu Ojukwu, scriptwriter, cinematographer and director of ‘Amina’, ‘76’, and ‘White Waters’.

The growing list of voters, according to the NOSC, is to bring people of diverse creative portfolios into the dynamics of selecting the very best from Nigeria, for a highly competitive international awards scheme like the Oscars.

The NOSC is headed by filmmaker and entrepreneur, Chineze Anyaene-Abonyi. Other members include Chairman of Audio-Visual Rights Society (AVRS) of Nigeria, Mahmood Ali-Balogun; Filmmaker/Talent Manager, Mildred Okwo; veteran actress and filmmaker, Ego Boyo; Director and Cinematographer, Adetokunbo ‘DJ Tee’ Odubawo; Theater Practitioner, Yibo Koko; Managing Director of FilmOne Entertainment, Moses Babatope; Academic/Culture Journalist, Shaibu Husseini and CEO of Legend Box Office, Bruce Ayonote. The window for the submission of films for the 2023 Oscars is open until August 31, 2022.

The IFF Award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length film produced outside the United States that contains 50 per cent or more of non-English dialogue.

The Academy, in 2020, approved Pidgin English as a qualification for this category.

The Academy requires that films that are submitted must meet other criteria, including accurate English subtitles, shooting formats, and theatrical releases – details of which are available on the NOSC website.