'Nairobi Half Life': Kenya's first entry in Oscar race
David 'Tosh' Gitongo the Director of 'Nairobi Half Life' movie with some of the cast members during its premiere show at the Westgate Cinemas on 30th August 2012. PHOTO / Charles Kamau.
Kenya has for the first time submitted its own candidate for an Oscar award for Best Foreign-Language Film, the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced on Monday.
"Nairobi Half Life," directed by David "Tosh" Gitonga, will compete with films from 70 other countries for the five nominations in this category.
The list of nominees will be announced on January 10, with the Oscar to be awarded at a Hollywood ceremony on February 24.
South Africa is the only other sub-Saharan country to have offered a film for the Academy's consideration in this year's foreign-language category.
"Nairobi Half Life" has yet to be screened in the United States, but it will be made available for viewing by Oscar judges.
The film was shown at the Durban Film Festival in South Africa in July, where the star of "Nairobi Half Life," Joseph Wairimu, won the Best Actor award.
"Heart of Fire," a Kenyan/German co-production directed by Italy's Luigi Falorni, was an entrant in 2008 in the Best Foreign Film competition. It did not receive a nomination.
In submitting "Nairobi Half Life" to the Academy, the Kenya Oscars Selection Committee said last month, "It is clear from this film that the Kenya Film Industry has the capacity to make movies that can compete on a global platform."
