The Nigerian Oscars Selection Committee, NOSC, has picked ‘The Milkmaid’ as the country’s submission to the International Feature Film category of the 2021 Oscars.
According to a report by Pulse.ng, the film was selected by the 12-member committee having followed and met the prescribed procedures by the Academy, subject to further determination by the IFF Executive Committee.
The NOSC is headed by a filmmaker and education administrator, Chineze Anyaene-Abonyi.
Written, produced and directed by Desmond Ovbiagele, ‘The Milkmaid’ is a Hausa language-based thriller on insurgency, especially as it affects women and children in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Inspired by the image on Nigeria’s N10 note, the film which is currently showing in cinemas nationwide, tells the story of a Fulani milkmaid who confronts extremists in a rural African community.
It follows her journey and quest to locate her missing sister, and how efforts to recapture her disrupted past prove complicated.
Mr Anyaene-Abonyi noted that there is a significant improvement in the quality of films received this year.
“The Academy’s approved parameters had to be diligently followed to select the country’s entry without prejudice.
“And I must say that the Nigerian film industry is awakened to the internationally acceptable requirements for film production, though there would always be room for improvement in order to increase our competitive outlook every year,” she said.
