AMAA 2022: King Sunny Ade, P-Square Lit up the Night with Sterling Performances

Stories by Vanessa Obioha

The 18th edition of the Africa Movie Academy Awards which was held on Sunday, October 30, will remain memorable to attendees and winners as Nigerian films led with eight awards. The night was lit up by the sterling performances of King Sunny Ade who is no stranger to the AMAA stage. With his calm vocals and dexterous fingers on the guitar, he brought the audience to their feet. Not to be outdone, the energetic twins P-Square raised the roof with their exhilarating moves on stage. They reminded the audience why they are still the best in the music business.

Tanzania’s ‘Tug of War’ and South Africa’s ‘Surviving Gaza’ came after Nigeria with four awards each while ‘Borga,’ a film shot by a German director in Ghana came next with three awards.

Other films that won different categories include Somalia and Kenya’s ‘Ayaanle,’ Senegal’s ‘Astel,’ Uganda’s ‘No way out’ and ‘Tembele,’ USA’s ‘Contraband’ and ‘Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story’ and Peru’s ‘The Rumba King.’

The Nigerian films that won the eight awards are Bolanle Austen Peters’ ‘Man of God’ with two awards, Kunle Afolayan’s ‘Swallow’ with two awards, Tope Oshin’s ‘Here love lies’ with one award, Tunde Aina’s ‘Underbelly’ with one award, Ogo Okpue’s ‘A Song from the Dark’ with one award and Walter Banger’s ‘Jolly Roger.’

With several nominees from different parts of Africa and the diaspora in attendance, the 2022 AMAA also had thrilling performances from Choc City’s Young Jon and Candy Bleakz, Zadok, and Yinka Davies.

Speaking at the event, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, the founder of AMAA and Chief Executive Officer of the African Film Academy chided African filmmakers for shunning ego and embracing more collaborations to enhance the growth of the African film industry. She stressed the need for film practitioners in Africa to unite and chart a pathway for African leaders in supporting the creative sector.

The event had in attendance Commissioner for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf with her husband, Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Education, Tokunbo Wahab, the Jury led by Keith Shiri, Shaibu Husseini, Steve Ayorinde, and several film practitioners that include Richard Mofe-Damijo, Keppy Ekpeyong Bassey, Idowu Phillips, Bimbo Manuel,  among several others.