By Olu Victor
As the prestigious Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) marks a decade of critical appraisal of the African cinema, a great responsibility is bestowed on the award scheme, not only to stage a world-class show, but also to maintain the credibility that has stood it out since it made debut in 2005. But perhaps a greater responsibility rests on the shoulders of the African filmmaker who has been challenged through this platform, to put out entries that will galvanize the continent into the revered world of almighty Oscars, Cannes, Berlinale and other global movie events.
However, with the recent release of nominations, in the 26 categories of the AMAAs in Johannesburg, South Africa, the fate of the filmmakers and their works rest with the jury of AMAA, whose composition is next to none, as far as shows by Africans at home or in the Diaspora are concerned.
Indeed, the credibility of the AMAAs lies in the strength of its jury, and Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, Chief Executive of AMAA has certainly done well, as a collector of seasoned professionals, most of whom are curators for top-notch international film festivals.
The team includes Berni Goldblat, member of the jury of the International Francophone Film Festival of Namur (FIFF Namur), Belgium; Steve Ayorinde, Nigerian journalist and member of International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI); 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.
The continent awaits the decisions by these jurors at the award ceremony which comes up on May 24, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, there are total of 458 films from different parts of the world, which is a far cry from 328 that was received last year, it is obvious that the AMAA brand is gaining more popularity. Officials of the AMAAs record that there were 24 animations, 174 short films, 20 Diaspora features, 10 Diaspora documentaries, 50 African documentaries and 180 feature films in competition this year.
Going by the nominations, two South African films, Of Good Report and The Forgotten Kingdom, have shown strength of dominance. 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. Of Good Report became famous after the Film and Publications Board (FPB) of South Africa banned it in July 2013 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.
The heart of every award is in two major categories; the ‘Picture’ which is a cumulative of technical and artistic efforts, and the ‘Acting’, which brings the thoughts of the filmmaker into motion picture.
The former, which is usually a clean sweep, owing to its encompassing nature has given credence to the works of filmmakers like Kunle Afolayan, whose film, Irapada made some of the earliest hits at the AMAAs. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe was apt when she said recently that, “there are actors and actresses who have helped AMAA to become what it is today. For two different reasons, Kunle broke into the mainstream cinema with Irapada, which turned out to be the first Nollywood film to enter an international film festival.” The power of the categories like Best Film, Best Director etc is such that it launches the filmmaker into international reckoning faster than the actor.
There is no gainsaying that AMAA has boosted the profile of other winners like DJo Munga for Viva Riva (2011), Kenneth Gyang for Confussion Na Wa (2013), Kunle Afolayan for The Figurine (2010), Leila Djansi for I Sing Of A Well (2010), and Charlie Vundla’s thriller, How 2 Steal 2 Million (2012) which was also the director’s debut, among others.
Ayorinde, who is the head jury for AMAA 2014 disclosed that 458 entries were received, stating “most African filmmakers have refined their works and have tried to produce exceptional movies that could compete on the biggest movie platforms in the world.” This explains how competitive this year’s AMAA will be.
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