Nigeria has selected Dear Ajayi for the 2027 Oscars, sending Damilola Orimogunje’s Nigerian-German drama forward in the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards.
The selection, announced by the Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC), puts the 2026 film into the next stage of the Academy Awards process after a year in which Nigeria did not submit an entry for the previous Oscars. The announcement also comes after Dear Ajayi earned recognition at the 2026 Venice Film Festival, giving the film an international profile before its Oscar campaign begins.
Dear Ajayi becomes Nigeria’s 2027 Oscars entry
The NOSC selected Dear Ajayi after reviewing films submitted during its 2026 call for entries, which ran from August 1 to August 31.
The committee is responsible for choosing Nigeria’s official submission for the Academy’s International Feature Film category. Following the selection, Dear Ajayi will be presented to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration.
NOSC Chairperson Stephanie Linus congratulated the filmmakers and said the committee looked forward to presenting the film for Academy consideration.
It is important, however, to separate an Oscar submission from an Oscar nomination. Dear Ajayi has not been nominated for an Academy Award at this stage.
The Academy must first determine the eligibility of submissions before the international feature films move through preliminary voting. The shortlist is scheduled for December 15, 2026, while Oscar nominations are scheduled to be announced on January 21, 2027.
What Dear Ajayi is about
Directed and written by Damilola Orimogunje, Dear Ajayi is set in southwestern Nigeria during the 1990s and centres on two estranged sisters, Ade and Titi Ajayi.
The sisters have taken very different paths in life. Ade, played by Bimbo Akintola, is a devout Christian and the family’s main breadwinner. Titi, played by Tosin Adeyemi, is an aspiring singer whose independent outlook clashes with the expectations surrounding her.
Their difficult relationship is tested further when their paralysed mother returns to the family home and the sisters are forced to live together while caring for her.
What begins as a family responsibility brings old disagreements back to the surface. The film explores grief, faith, ambition, sacrifice and the complicated bonds between family members.
The story is deliberately intimate, relying on the relationship between the characters rather than a large-scale plot. The official Giornate degli Autori programme lists Bimbo Akintola, Tosin Adeyemi, Lanre Hassan, William Benson, Antar Laniyan, Uzoamaka Power, Michelle Dede and Chioma Omeruah among the cast.
Dear Ajayi arrives with Venice recognition
One of the strongest parts of Dear Ajayi’s Oscar story is what happened before its Nigerian selection.
The film had its world premiere at the 2026 Venice Film Festival through Giornate degli Autori, also known as Venice Days. It was selected for the competition and screened in September.
Dear Ajayi subsequently won the Enrico Fulchignoni Award at Giornate degli Autori. The award recognised the film for its human depth, performances and direction, particularly in its portrayal of Nigerian society and the two central characters.
The film also received the Bisato d’Oro award for best cast and performances.
The Venice recognition does not guarantee an Oscar nomination, but it gives Dear Ajayi an international festival record as it enters the Academy process.
Why Nigeria’s Oscars return matters
Dear Ajayi’s selection also represents Nigeria’s return to the International Feature Film race after the country did not submit a film for the 98th Academy Awards.
In July, the NOSC reopened Nigeria’s search for an entry for the 99th Oscars after the committee had declined to submit a film for the previous edition, saying the entries reviewed did not meet its required standards.
Nigeria has participated in the category several times but has yet to secure a nomination.
Genevieve Nnaji’s Lionheart became Nigeria’s first submission for the category at the 2020 Oscars but was disqualified after the Academy determined that most of its dialogue was in English.
Desmond Ovbiagele’s The Milkmaid later became the first Nigerian submission to be accepted into the International Feature Film category, although it did not make the final shortlist. Mami Wata and Mai Martaba subsequently represented Nigeria in later Oscar cycles without reaching the final shortlist.
Dear Ajayi now gives Nigeria another opportunity to advance further in the competition.
When are the 2027 Oscars?
The 99th Academy Awards will take place on March 14, 2027, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
Before then, Dear Ajayi must make it through the Academy’s eligibility and voting stages. The official Academy calendar lists December 15, 2026, for the shortlist announcement and January 21, 2027, for the Oscar nominations.
That means the next major milestone for Dear Ajayi will be the Academy’s shortlist.
Until then, the film remains Nigeria’s official submission rather than a confirmed Oscar nominee.
Dear Ajayi’s next chapter
For Orimogunje and the Dear Ajayi team, the Oscar selection adds another major chapter to a film that has already travelled beyond Nigeria.
The film combines a distinctly Nigerian family story with themes that extend beyond its setting: the pressure of responsibility, complicated sibling relationships, personal ambition and the search for freedom within family expectations.
Its Venice awards have already brought international attention to the production. Now, as Nigeria’s official submission for the 2027 Oscars, Dear Ajayi moves into a much more closely watched stage.
Whether it reaches the shortlist or eventually earns a nomination will be decided by the Academy. For now, the film’s selection means Nigeria is officially back in the International Feature Film race, with Dear Ajayi carrying the country’s hopes into the next phase of the 99th Oscars.
