By Olu Victor
The razzmatazz, tiaras and sensations of May 24th, 2014 was befitting of the 10th anniversary of the prestigious Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), which held at the Gabriel Okara Cultural Centre, Yenogoa, capital of Bayelsa State.
A star-studded event, Yenagoa went into revelry, starting from the previous day, when filmmakers, film enthusiasts, film critics, the media and celebrities began trooping in, from different African countries, and beyond.
The event marked a decade of critical appraisal of the African cinema, and indeed, through to the predictions of PRIDE MAGAZINE, not only did AMAA deliver a world-class show, it also maintained the credibility that has stood it out, since it made debut in 2005.
Beyond this, there is no gain saying that our thoughts on the likely winners were close to precision, as the film, ‘Of Good Report’, the controversial South African film, showed strength of dominance at the show.
There is no doubt that Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, Chief Executive Officer of AMAA, had done well, as a collector of seasoned professionals, most of whom are curators for top notch international film festivals.
Directed by Jamil X.T Quebeka, ‘Of Good Report’ clinched 10 laurels, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor slots.
If there was a category where Nigeria had done well, it was in the acting segment, which had veteran actresses, Clarion Chukwura and Patience Ozorkwo winning as ‘Best Actress’ and ‘Best Supporting Actress’ respectively.
Quebeka’s flick, and another entry from his country man, Andrew Mudge entitled ‘The Forgotten Kingdom’, had contended with ‘Accident’ (Nigeria), ‘Potomanto’ (Ghana), and ‘Children of Troumaron’ (Mauritius) for the Best Film diadem.
Prior to the release of the nominees list,’ Of Good Report’ had made a remarkable outing at notable film festivals, where it reigned with controversies.
The flick, it would be recalled, became famous after it was banned in July 2013 by the Film and Publications Board (FPB) of South Africa on the grounds that a sex scene between a school teacher and a pupil amounted to child pornography.
Although the ban was later overturned by the Board’s appeal tribunal and a 28 million Rand damage suit against the FPB, the profile of the movie has been on the rise, with its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September of the same year, and later, at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF) in Nigeria, where it opened a debate on artistic expression, and went ahead to win the Best Film laurel.
Chukwura’s award was received with an obvious sense of pride, especially going by the theme of the movie, ‘Apaye’, which fetched her the tiara. The delectable actress took time to explain that the message of the film, charges women, especially, to strive to succeed, in spite of odds.
Another remarkable award speech was the one made by Faith Isiakpere, co-producer of ‘Of Good Report’ who praised the art of the film director and the voiceless, but yet communicative technique of the lead character in the movie.
It was an emotional moment for the Gabonese filmmaker who won the Best Short Film plaque. She wasn’t crying for the late Efere Ozako in whose memory the award was endowed – she could hardly put her tenses together in English, having come from a French-speaking country, but it was obvious she was overwhelmed. It was her first time in Nigeria, and it felt more than a souvenir to return with an AMAA plaque.
She is the producer of the film, ‘Dialemi’, which beat ‘Haunted Soul’ from Kenya, ‘Siriya Mtungi’ from Tanzania, ‘New Horizon’ by a Nigerian, ‘Nandy l’orpheline’ from Mali, ‘Living Funeral’ by a Nigerian, and ‘Phindile’s Heart’ from South Africa.
However, it is noteworthy that ‘New Horizon’ received the Special Jury Prize, while ‘Living Funeral’ was the only Nigerian entry at the Short Film Corner of the just concluded Cannes Film Festival in France.
As comedians G.Bone and Funny Bone, as well as music artistes such as Timi Dakolo, Bez, Flavour, Edge and Ghana’s 4×4 Group took to the stage to thrill the crowd at intervals, the event sauntered on, with so much to savour, rounding off at exactly 1:58am.
Another notable moment was actor Bob Manuel Udokwu’s Special Recognition Award. So was Timi Dakolo’s ‘Great Nation’ which moved the crowd with great sound and purposeful lyrics. Bez showed class and dexterity on the guitar with his ‘Stupid Song’, among other hits, while Flavour, as usual, led the audience into frenzy with his contemporary highlife tune.
The jury of the Award, which was headed by Steve Ayorinde, a Nigerian journalist and member of International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), had others such as Berni Goldblat, member of the jury of the International Francophone Film Festival of Namur (FIFF Namur), Belgium; John Akomfrah (OBE), founding member of Black British Cinema – and trailblazer for British digital cinematography; Keith Shiri, international film curator and advisor to the London Film Festival; June Givanni, international film curator who ran the African Caribbean Film Unit and edited the Black Film Bulletin at the British Film Institute; Hyginus Ekwuazi (PhD), former MD/Director General, Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), and pioneer Director of National Film Institute, Jos; Ayoku Babu, international legal, cultural and political consultant specializing in African affairs, and director of Pan African Film Festival; Asantewa Olatunji, an entertainment lawyer on the staff of Paramount Pictures Entertainment Corporation; Dorothee Wenner, freelance filmmaker, and programmer with the International Forum of New Cinema/Berlinale, and Shaibu Hussaini, journalist and film critic.
For a fact, the show is one to talk about, for a long time to come.