AMAA announces nominees today

The nominees in the 28 categories of the African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), the annual pan-African reward system for motion picture practitioners, will hold in Lagos Sunday May 15, 2016 (today) the organisers have said.
In a statement released by the Chairman of the 2015 AMAA Jury, Shaibu Husseini, the nominees will be unveiled at a strictly media event at the Protea Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, and this will be a departure from the usual practice of announcing the nominees at a gala night.
“In the last eight years, the nominees have been announced at events outside Nigeria and the last being at JW Marriot Hotel, Los Angeles, United States. We are having both the nominees’ event and the main awards in Nigeria this year. We look forward to a very grand awards in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in June,’’ said the AMAA 2015 jury head.
According to the statistics released by Husseini, feature films, documentaries, animations and short films were submitted by filmmakers within Africa and the Diaspora for the awards which is in its 12th edition.
“Only 25 feature films will make it into nomination stage, however they may not all be nominated. But the 25 made it to the final stages of AMAA selection out of the over 280 feature films received this year from over 25 African countries including Nigeria, Cape Verde, Gambia, Morrocco, Uganda, Togo, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cameroun, Mali, Ethiopia, Niger, Kenya, Algeria and Egypt. Also 15 short films (Africa and the Diaspora) made it to the final stages. Unfortunately only eight of the African documentary films and three Diaspora short films will make it to nomination.
The Board of Jurors of AMAA with members which include academics, filmmakers, critics and film festival curators from Nigeria, Germany, United States, Zimbabwe, Jamaica and Burkina Faso will decide on which film and individual talents that will make the nominations and also eventual winners.
The award has a very thorough and four-stage pre-screening process before the College of Screeners who makes the final works that will go to the Board of Jurors.
“We are very happy about the quality of works that came into the competition this year, and it gladdens our heart that every year the objectives of the awards are being achieved with filmmakers in Africa and beyond upping their game,” added Husseini.