Dear Ajayi lands Nigeria’s Oscars 2027 slot after a year out

Dear Ajayi, Damilola Orimogunje’s drama about two estranged sisters, is Nigeria’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2027 Oscars. The Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) announced the pick on Sunday, 4 October, ThisDay and Premium Times reported.

It ends a year on the sidelines. Nigeria sent no film to the 98th Oscars after the committee said none of the 2025 entries showed the “creative and technical intentionality” it wanted, according to Premium Times.

NOSC chair Stephanie Linus congratulated the filmmakers and said the committee looked forward to presenting the film for the Academy’s consideration. Being picked is not the same as being nominated, though. The real test is the Academy’s 15-film shortlist on Tuesday, 15 December.

What is Dear Ajayi about?

Dear Ajayi follows Ade and Titi Ajayi, sisters with very different lives who are pushed back together when they must care for their paralysed mother in 1990s south-west Nigeria. Bimbo Akintola plays Ade and Tosin Adeyemi plays Titi, according to the film’s official poster and Cineuropa’s listing.

Lanre Hassan, William Benson, Uzoamaka Power, Michelle Dede and Chioma Omeruah, known as Chigul, are also in the cast. Orimogunje wrote and directed it and produced it with Ajah Enene-Orimogunje and Bose Oshin under his 2o9ine Films banner. Cineuropa lists it as a 120-minute Nigeria-Germany co-production. It is his second feature after For Maria Ebun Pataki.

How did Dear Ajayi become Nigeria’s Oscars pick?

The road ran through Venice. GistMatrix put these dates together from the committee’s announcement, festival coverage and the Academy’s calendar:

July 2026: Dear Ajayi is selected for Giornate degli Autori (Venice Days), an independent section of the Venice Film Festival. Deadline reported it as the first Nigerian film chosen for the section.

1 to 31 August 2026: The NOSC takes entries for the 99th Oscars, Premium Times reported.

2 to 12 September 2026: The film has its world premiere at Venice Days during the 83rd Venice Film Festival.

4 October 2026: The NOSC names Dear Ajayi as Nigeria’s submission.

15 December 2026: The Academy announces its shortlists, including 15 international features.

How has Nigeria done at the Oscars before?

Nigeria has never reached the final five in this category. Its first entry, Genevieve Nnaji’s Lionheart, was disqualified for the 92nd Oscars because most of its dialogue was in English. The Academy requires a majority of the dialogue in this category to be in a language other than English.

Desmond Ovbiagele’s The Milkmaid went in for the 93rd Oscars, C.J. Obasi’s Mami Wata for the 96th and Prince Daniel Aboki’s Mai Martaba for the 97th. None was nominated. Then came the blank year. So Dear Ajayi is carrying more than one film’s hopes: it is the committee’s answer to its own complaint about quality.

Where can you watch Dear Ajayi in Nigeria?

For now, it is hard to find. When GistMatrix checked the Filmhouse and Silverbird Cinemas websites at about 11:35pm WAT on Monday, 5 October, neither listed Dear Ajayi under Now Showing or Coming Soon.

BellaNaija reported on 21 September that the film had been in select cinemas since 18 September, ahead of a nationwide release on Friday, 13 November, with FilmOne Entertainment distributing. As of 11:35pm WAT on 5 October, GistMatrix could not confirm that date on a cinema listing.

What happens next

The Academy announces its shortlists on Tuesday, 15 December 2026, and the nominations on Thursday, 21 January 2027, according to its published calendar. The 99th Oscars take place on Sunday, 14 March 2027, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

FAQ

Which film is Nigeria’s entry for the 2027 Oscars?
Dear Ajayi, written and directed by Damilola Orimogunje. The Nigerian Official Selection Committee announced it on 4 October 2026 for the Best International Feature Film category.

Did Nigeria submit a film for the 2026 Oscars?
No. The committee said in 2025 that none of the entries it reviewed met its standard, Premium Times reported.

Is Dear Ajayi nominated for an Oscar?
Not yet. It is a submission. The Academy names a 15-film shortlist on 15 December 2026 and the five nominees on 21 January 2027.

Have you seen Dear Ajayi yet? Tell us in the comments whether Nigeria picked the right film.

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