Nigeria Selects ‘Dear Ajayi’ as Official Submission for 99th Oscars

Nigeria is heading back into the Oscars race, and this time, the country is putting Damilola Orimogunje’s Dear Ajayi forward as its official submission for the International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards.

Sponsored Content

The Nigerian Official Selection Committee, NOSC, announced the selection after reviewing films submitted during its 2026 call for entries. The committee will now present Dear Ajayi to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration.

NOSC Chairperson Stephanie Linus congratulated the filmmakers, saying the committee looks forward to presenting the film for Academy consideration and wishes the team success in the next stage of the process.

ALSO READ:

• While Nollywood Changed, Genevieve Nnaji Became a Myth

• AMVCA 2026 Delivered History, Emotion, And A New Era for Nollywood

---

What Is ‘Dear Ajayi’ About?

Written and directed by Damilola Orimogunje, Dear Ajayi is a Nigerian German co production set in southwestern Nigeria during the 1990s. The story centres on Ade and Titi Ajayi, two estranged sisters who are brought back together to care for their paralysed mother following the death of their father. Ade, a devout Christian and the family breadwinner, finds herself struggling to understand Titi, an aspiring singer whose independent personality challenges the expectations placed on her. As the sisters are forced to confront their shared family history, old wounds and unresolved resentments begin to surface.

The film explores family, faith, sacrifice, ambition, grief, forgiveness and reconciliation, while moving between Yoruba, English and Igbo.

The cast includes Bimbo Akintola, Tosin Adeyemi and Lanre Hassan, alongside William Benson, Antar Laniyan, Uzoamaka Power, Michelle Dede and Chioma Omeruah.

From Ibadan to Venice, Now the Oscars

Dear Ajayi has already had an impressive international journey. The film was selected for the competition section of Giornate degli Autori, an independent programme held alongside the 2026 Venice International Film Festival. It subsequently attracted international attention for its storytelling and performances.

Its journey began several years earlier, with the project reportedly going through a number of international development programmes before production eventually took place in Ibadan in 2025.

The film also received recognition at Venice, winning the Bisato d’Oro Award for Best Cast and Performances, according to reports on its festival journey.

This Is Not Yet an Oscar Nomination

There is an important distinction Nigerian movie lovers should understand. Being selected as Nigeria’s official submission does not mean Dear Ajayi has already received an Oscar nomination.

The film now enters the Academy’s consideration process alongside submissions from other countries. Under the 99th Academy Awards rules, films go through a preliminary voting round, from which 15 films will advance to the International Feature Film shortlist. A subsequent round will reduce those films to five official nominees. The NOSC itself makes this distinction clear, stating that selection as Nigeria’s official submission is not an Academy Award nomination.

Nigeria Returns to the Oscars Race

The selection is also significant because Nigeria did not submit a film for the 98th Academy Awards after the NOSC review committee concluded that none of the films considered met its required standards. With Dear Ajayi, Nigeria now has another opportunity to make history in the International Feature Film category.

Recall that Nigeria is yet to receive an Oscar nomination in the category. The country’s previous submissions include Genevieve Nnaji’s Lionheart and Desmond Ovbiagele’s The Milkmaid, among others. Lionheart was controversially disqualified from the 2020 Oscars because the Academy determined that most of its dialogue was in English.

When Are the 99th Oscars?

The 99th Academy Awards are scheduled for March 14, 2027, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.

For Dear Ajayi, however, the immediate goal is much closer, surviving the Academy’s eligibility and voting process and securing a place among the 15 films on the International Feature Film shortlist. If it makes that cut, Nigeria will have even more reason to celebrate.

For now, Dear Ajayi has done the first important job. Nigeria has chosen its film. Now, the real Oscars race begins.

• Behind the Scenes Breaks Global Nollywood Records

• What Nollywood Filmmakers Can Learn From Bolanle Austen Peters’ 2026 Double Release Strategy

• From Quantity To Confidence, How These Films Reflect Nollywood’s Creative Evolution

Desauce Magazine

Desauce Magazine is more than a blog, it is a cultural journal capturing the rhythm of Nigeria. From music and film to lifestyle and social issues, we tell stories that reflect the energy, struggles, and brilliance of our people.