Oscars: Kenyan film Rafiki fails the cut, Black Panther gets seven nominations

Controversial film Rafiki has failed to make the final 2019 Oscar nominations list.

The lesbian-themed film became the first Kenyan film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to be screened at several festivals across the world.

Rafiki lost to Black Panther in the Best Picture category.

Black Panther, which features Kenya’s Lupita Nyong’o, received seven nominations at the Oscars.

In 2018 it won the biggest film award in 2018 and will make history as the first comic book superhero movie to receive the award if it wins this year’s Oscars.

Other film nominations for Best Original Song include The Place Where Lost Things Go, Trip a Little Light Fantastic (both from Mary Poppins Returns), Shallow (A Star Is Born), The Big Unknown and All the Stars.

Alfonso Cuarón’s highly tipped Roma is unsurprisingly included on the list for Best Foreign Language Film, with Black Panther and Mary Poppins Returns taking up four nominations each.

Read: Lesbian romance film Rafiki shows in Nairobi after court lifts ban

The 2019 Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards were revealed on Tuesday, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

The announcement was made by Tracee Ellis Ross and Kumail Nanjiani.

A Star Is Born grabbed the most nominations, with the favourite, Roma and Maybe First Man not far behind. 

This year’s winners will be announced during the Oscars telecast on Sunday, February 24 2019.

It will be aired live from the Dolby Theatre at Hollywood & Highland.

The telecast will likely be presided over by individual teams of presenters rather than a single host, following the exit of Kevin Hart.

Read also: Kenya bans lesbian based film ‘Rafiki’ ahead of Cannes Festival

See more: High court lifts ban on lesbian themed movie ‘Rafiki’

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