Following the eight-day extravagant eighth edition in 2022, the organisers of Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, MultiChoice Nigeria and Africa Magic, are ready to roll out the red carpets for another year of recognising the best Nollywood talent.
MultiChoice Nigeria and Africa Magic call all African filmmakers to submit their movies and films publicly exhibited or broadcast between December 1, 2021, and January 31, 2023, for this year’s edition of the awards. The entry portal opens on February 20, 2023, and closes on March 10, 2023. All films (aired in cinemas or otherwise), made-for-television movies or television series are eligible so long as they fall within the specified timeline.
Speaking on the forthcoming ninth edition, the Head of Content and West Africa Channels, MultiChoice, Dr Busola Tejumola, said: “The AMVCAs returned last year after a one-year break with much pomp and pageantry. We had an eight-day celebration filled with several activities affecting the different facets of our industry. Since then, we’ve seen more brilliant work we look forward to celebrating at the ninth edition of the awards. This year’s AMVCAs will once again demonstrate our intentionality in spotlighting the tremendous talent we have in the African film and TV industry.”
The ninth edition, slated for later in the year, will see the return of the social media category which the fast-rising comedian, Sabinus, took home last year. The award tagged ‘Best Online Social Content Creator’ recognises the growing acceptance of content creators across Africa. There are also categories like the trailblazer and lifetime awards that are often emotional wins.
Fast-rising actors in the period under review will be looking forward to winning the trailblazer award, which will mark a major milestone in their career. On the other hand, the veterans and Nollywood fans will have their fingers crossed on the African movie legend the award show will be celebrating this year. The fashion-forward ‘Best-dressed’ male and female categories will also return, and attendees will be looking to beat Osas Ighodaro and Denola Grey’s gorgeous looks from last year.
Osas also won the ‘Best Actress in a Drama’ award for her role in “Rattlesnake the Ahanna Story”. The film won three other awards for ‘Best Director (Movie)’, ‘Best Cinematographer’ and ‘Best Actor in a Drama’, making Osas and her film one of the night’s biggest winners. Izu Ojukwu’s “Amina” also had a fantastic night last May, carting four awards in the categories of ‘Best Art Director’, ‘Best costume designer’, ‘Best Sound editor’, and ‘Best Overall Movie’.
To enter the awards, all filmmakers must prepare a 5-minute-long showreel. The video must be less than 300MB and submitted on the Africa Magic website. The website will allocate a unique reference number to each completed online submission.