The Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) invites filmmakers to submit their
feature, short and documentary works for consideration for the 2014 event.
Now in its 10th edition, the 2014 AMAA honours and celebrates the best in the
filmmaking and the professionals who make the industry the pride of the African
continent.
Filmmakers need to submit their entries by 15 January 2014, while nominations
will be announced in the first week of March.
Feature length films, shorts and documentary entries qualify for submissions,
however, only films produced, premiered and / or released between May 2012
and December 2013 are eligible. Features may not be longer than 120 minutes
and shorts should not exceed 40 minutes.
The jury of the AMAA has approved guidelines for the submission of films for the
2014 edition of the awards after its Annual General Meeting (AGM) that took
place in Durban, South Africa recently, after agreeing on the continental motion
picture reward system.
Attendees of the AGM included Ayo Baku, director of the Pan-African Film Festival
(PAFF) Los Angeles; Dr Asantewa Olatunji, co-director of PAFF; Steve Ayorinde,
managing director / editor-in-chief of the National Mirror newspaper in Nigeria;
Shuaib Hussein, journalist and film critic; June Givanni, an international film
curator; Keith Shiri, an international film curator and programme advisor to the
London Film Festival; Berni Goldblat, member of the jury of the International
Francophone Film Festival of Namur (FIFF Namur) in Belgium; and Prof Hyginus
Ekwuazi, lecturer at the department of Dramatic Art, University of Ibadan and
also former managing director of Nigeria Film Corporation in Jos, Nigeria.
Givanni presided over the AGM and, speaking on some of the decisions taken by
the jurors, she divulged that the jury had made some amendments to the award
categories, adding that the awards organisation and the jury were ready to
deliver a good 10th-year anniversary event.
“We made some changes to the categories and have introduced an award that
is named after former President Nelson Mandela called the Madiba Africa Vision
Award, which will be given at the discretion of the jury to any film captures the
essence and vision of the category,’ Givanni said. “The category for Best Film by
African Living Abroad has been cancelled.’
She continued: “We also renamed two categories after two exceptional Africans
who have contributed to the growth and development of the film industry. The
Best Film in African Language will now be (known as) the Sembene Ousmane
Award for Best Film in African Language while the Best Short Film Award
category will now be called the Efere Ozako Award for Best Short Film. AMAA is
immortalising the names of these two great men with the awards.’
Encouraging young and upcoming film directors to continue to strive for
excellence and best practices, Givanni added that a new category Best Director
First Feature Film has been introduced.
During the nine years of the AMAA, international music and Hollywood icons such
as Danny Glover, Forest Whittaker, Morris Chesnut, Rockmond Dunbar, Angela
Basset, Monique, Miriam Makeba, Mario Van Peebles, Jimmy Jean Louis, Hakeem
Kae Kazim have hosted and attended the awards.
More than 700 films were entered for the 2013 AMAA from over 40 countries
within Africa and the Diaspora.
The AMAA also holds a nominations gala evening during which nominees are
announced for different categories across various African cities in an effort to
highlight the pan-African vision of the event. In 2013, the gala night was hosted
by President Joyce Banda in Lilongwe, Malawi who has now endorsed a prize for
the Best Film Depicting Positive Stories About Women.
Said Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, AMAA founder and CEO: “There is this great
awareness of the possibilities in Africa. This has been an exciting year for African
cinema as many big budget productions have been produced on the continent
and distribution is becoming more accessible to African films.’
Submissions should be made at www.ama-awards.com and each completed
entry form must be accompanied by all the supporting materials listed on the
submission forms, including the synopsis of the film, the list of credits, five DVD
copies of the film and proof of the right to submit.
Visit www.ama-awards.com for more information.
