The announcement for the 93rd Academy Awards nominations was recently made on the 16th of March 2021. The announcement saw the likes of “Nomadland”, “Mank”, “Minari”, “The Father,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7″, “Judas and the Black Messiah,” “Promising Young Woman” and “Sound of Metal” nominated for Best Picture.

While most of the buzz is focused on the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress spots, we at AMDB.tv are looking forward to the Best International Feature Film category.

The nominees for the 93rd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film are

“The Man Who Sold His Skin” (Tunisia)

“Another Round” (Denmark) 

“Better Days” (Hong Kong)

“Collective” (Romania) 

“Quo Vadis, Aida?”(Bosnia and Herzegovina) 

We are happy to see that Tunisia made the list considering that last year, despite the 10 Oscar submissions from Africa for the Best International Feature Film category, none was nominated.

In our “Things that African filmmakers can learn from the 92nd Academy Awards” article last year, we outlined some of our thoughts on why Parasite won and how African filmmakers can apply some of the lessons learned in that experience.

The Tunisian movie, The Man Who Sold His Skin, seems to tick most of the boxes for us. The film is artistic, fun, tragic and most importantly, it tells a bizarre story that is somehow still relatable. Hence, we are not surprised that it managed to do what last year’s Papicha and other African movies tried to achieve. This, in our books, means progress.

Directed by the female Tunisian director, Kaouther Ben Hania, The Man Who Sold His Skin stars Yahya Mahay, Monica Bellucci, Koen De Bouw and Najoua Zouhair.

The other contenders in the Best International Feature Film category are no slouch either. The Man Who Sold His Skin will especially find itself up against Another Round which, frankly, we think is a brilliant movie.

The Man Who Sold His Skin marks the first ever Oscar nomination for Tunisia and if it wins, that will be a win not just for Tunisia but for Africa.

The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony is expected to hold on the 25th of April 2021 at the Dolby Theatre and Union Station in Los Angeles.