‘The Gravedigger’s Wife’, ‘Eyimofe’, ‘Collision Course’ Lead AMAA Nominations

By Vanessa Obioha

Breaking last year’s record of eight nominations bestowed upon Nigeria’s Oscar 2020 submission ‘The Milkmaid’, Somalian filmmaker Khadar Ayderus feature debut ‘The Gravedigger’s Wife’ leads the African Movie Academy Award (AMAA) with 10 nominations.

The film is centred on Guled, a gravedigger in Djibouti, who struggles to raise money to pay for surgery when his wife becomes gravely ill with kidney disease.

On the home front, critically acclaimed ‘Eyimofe’ is this year’s most-nominated feature film from Nigeria with seven nominations.

The film, which highlights brain drain, is directed by the twin duo of Arie and Chuko Esiri. ‘Eyimofe’ is the only Nigerian film to make it into the top tier category of Best Film, where it faces stiff competition from seven other African feature films.

The film was nominated in the following categories: Best First Feature Film by a Director, Achievement in Sound, Best Director, Best Nigerian Film, Achievement in Editing, and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Jude Akuwudike).

Period drama ‘Ayinla’ received recognition in four categories that include Best Actor in a Leading Role(Lateef Adedimeji), Best Nigerian Film, Achievement in Cinematography, and Best Film in an African Language.

Also garnering the attention of the jury with four nominations is the Bolanle Austen-Peters produced ‘Collision Course’, a film inspired by the events of the recent #EndSARS protests.

The film fetched nods in the categories of Achievement in ScreenPlay; Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Kelechi Udegbe); Best Young/Promising Actor (Oluwabamike Olawunmi-Adenibuyan, aka Bambam), and Best Nigerian Film.

Similarly, the Rita Dominic starred ‘La Femme Anjola’ received four nods that comprise Best Actress in a Leading Role (Rita Dominic), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Nonso Bassey), Best Nigerian Film, and Achievement in Sound.

Others with multiple nominations include cinema favourite ‘Omo Ghetto: The Saga’, Kunle Afolayan’s ‘The Citation’ and the reboot of Nollywood classic ‘Rattlesnake’, ‘Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story’.

To curate a shortlist of 45 films that span across 26 categories, the Africa film academy jury headed by Steve Ayorinde, sifted through over 500 films. Ayorinde expressed confidence in the selections made by the jury to equally reflect the fine works of filmmakers across the continent and those in the diaspora.

The 17th edition of the award ceremony is scheduled to hold on Sunday, November 28, 2021, at the Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, with plans to broadcast live in 40 African countries.