For AMVCA 8th Edition, Africa Magic Pushes the Envelope

Stories by Vanessa Obioha

Following the nominees’ announcement for the eighth edition of the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA), campaigns for votes are now in full swing as nominees share their excitement on social media.

 Hosted by Nollywood acts Adesua Etomi-Wellington and Daniel Etim Effiong, notable nominees for the edition include Femi Odugbemi’s documentary ‘Unmasked: Leadership, Trust and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria’ and TV drama series ‘Movement-Japa’. They were respectively voted in the Best Documentary and Best Africa Magic Original Drama Series. Others include ‘Amina’ which bagged the highest number of nominations including Best Overall Movie and Best Director for Izu Ojukwu. Larry Gaaga who was nominated in the Best Soundtrack category for his production of the soundtracks in the movie ‘Rattle Snake: The Ahanna Story’ will battle it out with other contenders for One Million Naira which is now tied to the award.

Held last in 2020, the AMVCA is returning with few changes. Apart from the introduction of the new category Best Online Social Content Creator which recognises skit makers, this year’s event is going to be an eight-day affair.

Revealing plans for the awards at a press conference recently, the Executive Head, Content and West Africa Channels, MultiChoice Nigeria, Busola Tejumola, stated that the introduction of the eight-day series of events will bring exciting changes to the awards which had its first edition in 2013.

“We are focused on shining the light on the many aspects that make the African film and television industry truly magical and beaming that magic to millions of Africans who watch the awards every year.

“These curated events will feature a celebration of fashion, technology, food and African culture. There will also be panel discussions and film screenings from our MultiChoice Talent Factory, industry sessions, and competitions for digital content creators and budding fashion designers,” she said.

The eight-day event will commence with an Opening Night on Saturday, May 7. This will be followed by a first-ever AMVCA runway show in partnership with Bella Naija Style on Sunday, May 8. On Monday, May 9 will be MultiChoice Talent Factory Day with movie screenings and panel discussions by students of the MTF academy.

Africa Magic will host industry stakeholders to a special Content Market Day on Tuesday,  May 10; and a pan-African food festival and cultural day on Wednesday, May 11. A Digital Content Creators’ Day to spotlight the growing popularity of online content creators will be held on Thursday, May 12 while a special gala for nominees will take place on  Friday,  May 13.  The series of events will culminate on Saturday, May 14, the scheduled date for the main award ceremony

Tejumola also noted that the AMVCA was conceived in line with Africa Magic’s vision of providing entertainment for Africans by Africans. She added that the AMVCA has fostered the development of the African film and television industry since it was introduced.