Nigeria selects Dear Ajayi for 2027 Oscars consideration
Nigeria’s official selection committee has chosen Damilola Orimogunje’s Dear Ajayi as the country’s submission for the international feature category at the 99th Academy Awards. The selection begins the Academy’s eligibility process but is not a nomination; the film must compete for a shortlist place and eventual nomination.
Nigeria has selected Damilola Orimogunje’s Dear Ajayi as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards. The Nigerian Official Selection Committee announced the decision after reviewing films entered during its call for submissions, which ran from 1 to 31 August. The 99th Oscars are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles on 14 March 2027.
The selection does not amount to an Academy Award nomination. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will assess Dear Ajayi alongside submissions from other countries before voting on a 15-film shortlist and, later, the five nominees. NOSC chairperson Stephanie Linus congratulated the filmmakers and said the committee supported the production as it moved to the next stage.
Nigeria’s return follows its failure to submit a film for the 98th Academy Awards. Written and directed by Orimogunje, Dear Ajayi is a Nigeria-Germany co-production set in southwestern Nigeria in the 1990s. It centres on two estranged sisters, Ade and Titi Ajayi, who are forced to live together while caring for their paralysed mother.
The film uses Yoruba, English and Igbo dialogue. Its cast includes Bimbo Akintola, Tosin Adeyemi and Lanre Hassan, alongside William Benson, Antar Laniyan, Uzoamaka Power, Michelle Dede and Chioma Omeruah. Dear Ajayi appeared in the competition section of the 2026 Giornate degli Autori, an independent programme held alongside the Venice International Film Festival.
It is scheduled to screen at Film Africa in London on 30 October. Under Academy rules, international features must meet requirements including a running time of more than 40 minutes, accurate English subtitles and a qualifying commercial cinema run. Nigeria has never received a nomination in the category.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.