"The Marshall of Finland," based on the life of Finnish national hero Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim and shot in Kenya with an African cast, has been nominated for 6 awards in Kenya's version of the Oscars, the Kalasha Awards.
The film has been nominated in six different categories: best short film, best art direction, best leading actor, best supporting actor, and best script for original screenplay.
When the initial decision to cast a dark-skinned actor as Finnish national hero Mannerheim was announced in 2012, it set off much debate in the press.
Mannerheim, who was born in 1867, is credited with winning the Civil War against the pro-Socialist Reds and with preserving Finland’s independence through two later wars with the Soviet Union. He served as Regent of Finland just after independence and as president in the 1940s. He also served as an officer in the Russian Imperial Court, and was known as a spy, adventurer, horseman and hunter.
Award winners will be announced in July.