An undercover investigation by Sahara Reporters in January this year had revealed that the movie whose right was exclusively bought by online streaming platform, Netflix was been pirated in Alaba Markets, Lagos and sold for just N70.
In October, wild reactions trailed the selection of “Lionheart” by the Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee, NOSC, to represent Nollywood at the 2020 Oscars as there was varying reactions and argument as why the movie should have or not have been selected.
Today, Nigerians woke up to the news that their first-ever submission for best international feature Oscar consideration, “Lionheart” has been disqualified by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences saying it had too much English dialogue.
The movie which was directed by ace Nollywood actress, Genevieve Nnaji according to the Los Angeles Times ran afoul of the academy rule which states that an International feature film category must have “a predominantly non-English dialogue track.”
Amidst all this, we bring to you an investigative report done by us highlighting how deep piracy has eaten into the Nigerian movie industry.
