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Over the weekend, cinema goers as well as Netflix subscribers were both given access to one of the year’s more intriguing awards contenders. In some ways, the impending Oscar campaign for Beasts of No Nation is unlike any that we’ve ever seen before. Beyond just being a dark film from Cary Joji Fukunaga that might be a tough sell to voters, it’s the first attempt by streaming service Netflix to appeal to members of the Academy. They’ve begun making inroads with the Emmys, but the Oscars is a whole different sort of beast, no pun intended. As such, this is one awards season subplot worth following closely. The movie is an adaptation of the novel by Uzodinma Iweala. It centers on Agu (played brilliantly by newcomer Abraham Attah), a young boy in an African village within an unnamed country who is essentially forced into becoming a child solider.