Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, founder of AMAA, will forever be grateful to ex-President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, for believing in her dream to change the African narrative and unite the film practitioners.
Peace Anyiam Osigwe, Olu Jacobs, Joke Silva at the 2016 AMAA
Jonathan, in 2004, was the governor of Bayelsa state while Peace was a film producer and administrator. Their path crossed, she sold him the idea of AMAA and an impressed Jonathan couldn’t believe an award of that magnitude could hold outside Lagos or Abuja – worse still Bayelsa. He bought the idea and AMAA was born.
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With the berth of AMA Awards, Anyiam-Osigwe instituted the Academy, which became solely responsible for running awards and other initiatives. The Academy made it known that the awards are aimed at honouring and promoting excellence in the African movie industry and Africans in the diaspora as well as uniting the Africans from across the globe through arts and culture.
The Acceptance
The pivotal point in the history of AMAA remains the acceptance of the awards ceremony by several African countries. It was the first and biggest film award that has practitioners across the continent as well as Africans in diaspora competing for an award at the same level. At least 30 countries and over 15 African countries submitted their works for screening by the college of the jury. The first edition was attended by numerous media representatives, celebrities, politicians, journalists, actresses and actors from all across the world.
Jim Jermanok speaking at an event organised for African film practitioners by AMA Awards [Instagram/digitalpmoglobal]
Changing the Narrative
The AMA Awards are widely considered to be Africa’s most important film event and the most prestigious film award in for people of African descent. The acceptance of the awards ceremony was further defined by the pedigree of the college of the jury, which members have been film curators at top film festivals that include the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and the Berlin Film Festival widely known as the Berlinale. The award categories were carefully selected by the Academy and the jury takes their time after critical and professional deliberations to determine the winner. Films and practitioners that have won the AMAAs have gone ahead to make a global impact. The AMAAs changed the notion that good films can’t be made in Africa by Africans and for the world.
AMA Awards has become the first and one of the biggest movie awards ceremony changing the African narrative. [Instagram/digitalpmoglobal]
Uniting African film and practitioners
In the last 15 years of hosting AMAAs, almost 400 awards have been won by several Africans – and even the Carribeans and Africans in the diaspora. If any film or movie awards have united Africans more and strengthened collaborative effort, it surely has to be AMAAs. From Cameroon to Tanzania, South Africa to Egypt, Rwanda to Nigeria, Ghana to Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago to Niger, The Gambia, Malawi, and Lesotho, film practitioners and their projection of the African narrative have been rewarded year in year out. The gathering of the nominees for the gala night remains another avenue for African film practitioners to hobnob and exchange cultural ideas. For every edition of AMAA comes a long list of activities, one of which is the gala night for nominees. It’s usually a high-class soiree that sees several film practitioners relate and mingle in a wonderful ambiance.
AMA Awards [Instagram/digitalpmoglobal]
After hosting AMAA in Nigeria – Bayelsa, Abuja, and Lagos – for a decade, the Academy led by the founder thought it wise to take it to other African countries and South Africa was the first to accept the hosting in 2015 before Rwanda hosted in 2018.
However, nomination parties have held in South Africa, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, The Gambia, Malawi, United States of America, Rwanda and Nigeria at different times.
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In 2018, AMA Awards held in Rwanda and it remains one of the memorable events in the country. [Instagram/digitalpmoglobal]
Growing the film industry
It’s pertinent to point out that the AMAAs has contributed, in its capacity, to the growth of the film industry across Africa. Anyiam Osigwe is quick to point out the training that the Academy has done in several African countries to help grow the film industry across Africa in the last 15 years.
In addition to growing the film industry in Africa, AMAA connects successful film business owners to meet with African film business owners in a roundtable conversation every year. This has seen some investors tap into the growing African film industry.
In 2018, AMAA trained the next generation of film makers is the future for African Filmmakers in collaboration with Cuba film school.[Instagram/digitalpmoglobal]
Knocks
Though the 15th edition of AMA Awards was a far better improvement over some of the previous editions, it’s time Anyiam-Osigwe and her team up the ante of the award, which has been dubbed Africa’s most important film event and the most prestigious film award in for people of African descent.
Some of the members of the team still do not understand the magnitude of this award and as such take on the task of producing the ceremony like a typical Nigerian awards ceremony. Anyiam-Osigwe should infuse more young minds – who have successfully demonstrated brilliance and professionalism – in handling the planning and production of the awards ceremony. Despite impacting on the continent’s film industry through training and investment opportunities, the award ceremony remains the poster of AMAA. It should be perceived as prestigious and glamorous as it positioned itself 15 years ago. AMAA is good content that should be delivered with the best exposure and wonderful production according to global practice.
