The controversial lesbian film failed to be nominated despite a High Court order lifting the ban on it – The selection committee said the film failed to produce a DVD copy of it which is still illegal to hold one in Kenya – It however noted the film had met all other requirement needed for a valid entry
However, another Kenyan film was picked for the nominations under the category of Best Foreign Language films It is a win for the Kenya Films Classifications Board (KFCB) CEO Ezekiel Mutua after the hyped homosexual Rafiki film failed to be nominated for the Oscar awards on Friday, September 28. The KFCB CEO announced the Oscars selection committee had picked a different film ‘Supa Modo’ which had won the AMVCA awards in Lagos, Nigeria and the recent River Woods award.
So after all the drama and court orders Rafiki Movie did not qualify for nomination to the Oscars, the Oscars Selection Committee has picked Supa Modo, a film that recently won in the AMVCA awards in Lagos and also in the KFCB sponsored Riverwood Awards. To hell with gay stuff,” wrote Mutua In a statement released by the selection committee on Saturday, September 29, Rafiki had all the requirements for nomination checked but it was skipped because it failed to submit it’s DVD copy. ”
The film had also all the items on the checklist ticked off apart from the DVD copy which we understand would not have been possible to submit as it is still illegal to hold a copy of the same movie in Kenya,” read the statement in part
The ban on the movie imposed by KFCB on grounds it was promoting lesbianism was recently lifted by the High Court and was given a seven day viewer-ship permit at the prestige plaza which ends on Sunday, September 30. The selection committee however noted, the circumstances surrounding the ban of the film in Kenya notwithstanding, it was satisfied Rafiki met a majority of the requirements needed to consider it a valid entry.
The controversial movie had been submitted for an Oscar nomination under the Best Foreign Language Film category.
However, Supa Modo, which was selected for the oscars, highlighting the challenges faced by a single mother and her family dealing with a terminally ill child. Another Kenyan film, Njata, also failed to make it to the nomination list as it failed to meet the selection committee’s parameters. “It did not have the minimum theatrical release time and Red Carpet premiere event as it was premiered at a community hall,” the statement read.