Kenya has officially submitted the local film “Mision To Rescue” to the Oscars.
The first-ever military action-packed film from Kenya will represent the country in the 94th Edition of the Academy Awards under the Best International Film Feature.
Produced and directed by Gilert Lukalia and Carna Wambui, the film was submitted for the prestigious awards by The Oscars Selection Committee Kenya (OSCK) in conjunction with The Kenya Film Classification Board.
Sharing the news online, the film production company behind it, Foxton Media, announced the move saying it’s a win for the local film industry.
“The Oscar Selelction Committee – Kenya has selected Mission to Rescue as the Kenyan submission to the 94th Edition of Academy Awards popularly known as the Oscars! Mission to Rescue will represent Kenya under the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards,” he said.
Alamin Virani, OSCK committee secretary, revealed that it was a close pick between three other films: Bangarang, Kiapo and Makumi.
“It was a close score for all the four films in regards to the Academy’s guidelines. This year’s entries were more competitive than what we have witnessed in the previous submissions. For instance, all the four films scored over 90 per cent in terms of location and set design. However, in general, Mission to Rescue scored slightly higher than the rest,” explained Virani.
Mission to Rescue is a one-hour forty-minute- long movie set along Kenya’s- Somali border. It revolves around Kenya’s Special Operations Forces who are training for their next mission when they receive word that Al-Shabaab fighters have abducted local officials.
The storyline is based on a true story that happened in 2011 when an elderly French woman living in Manda Island was kidnapped by a terrorist group.
It features Kenyan actors among them Melvin Alusa who reacted to the news.
“Such an honor, thank you, Lord. The Oscar Selection Committee – Kenya has selected ‘Mission To Rescue’ as the Kenyan submission to the 94th Edition of Academy Awards Oscars.
