By Benjamin Njoku

A wave of emotion swept through the Moremi hall, Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja Wednesday night, when the Africa Film Academy,AFA, producers of the Africa Movie Academy Awards,AMAA, unveiled the nominees for the 20th edition of the awards show, as guests at the event paid glowing tributes to the late founder of the organization Peace Anyiam-Osigwe. Peace died early last year, after a brief illness. Her family has vowed to sustain her legacy by continuing the award ceremony.

While unveiling the nominees for the 20th edition of the show billed to hold on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, dignitaries made of top actors, actresses, businessmen and government officials, took turns to relive memories of their encounter with the late founder of the award organization.

Raymond Anyiam-Osigwe, director of the Board of AFA and CEO of AMAA, talked about Peace’s vision for AMAA, and their resolve to sustain her legacy.

Some of the filmmakers in attendance, including Sunny McDon, Queen Blessing Ebigieson, Tony Anih, the Chief Operating Officer of AMAA, also relieved their memorable encounters with the late AMAA founder, expressing happiness that her dream didn’t die with her.

According to the NFVCB Executive Director Dr. Shaibu Husseini, who is the Head, College of Screener, they received a total of 368 entries this year.

Leading this year’s nominations is the film “The Weekend”, which got 16 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, and Achievement in Cinematography. It was followed by South Africa’s “The Queenstown Kings,” with 15 nominations in categories such as Best Film, Best Director, and Cinematography. With its strong presence across multiple categories, the film is poised to be a major contender at this year’s event.

Other notable nominees are ,‘This is Lagos’, ‘Under The Hanging Tree’, and ‘Out of Breath’, each receiving 9 nominations. Nigerian filmmaker Femi Adebayo’s much-loved film ‘Jagun Jagun’ also made the list with seven nominations, showcasing the diversity and depth of talent across African cinema. The 20th edition of AMAA is being organized in partnership with the Lagos State Government, with the theme ‘Celebrating African Creativity’.

Anyiam-Osigwe outlined some of the key activities for the 2024 edition, including the launch of the AMAA Coffee Book, the AMAA Africa Night of Legends, AMAA Meets Nollywood, the AMAA Africa Fashion Show and Exhibition, and the grand AMAA Gala Night.

The activities, according to him, will commence with the unveiling of nominees and award categories, as selected by the AMAA college of screeners and the jury. The AMAA Coffee Book launch is scheduled for October 25, with other events to follow. The AMAA Africa Night of Legends will take place on November 1, leading up to the awards ceremony and gala night on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja GRA, Lagos.