As African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) celebrates its ninth edition this year, there is an unbelievable increase in the number of films submitted by filmmakers from different parts of Africa.
Shuaib Hussein, a member of the awards jury and chairman of the College of Screeners, says a total of 671 films have been submitted for AMAA this year compared with average of 300 plus that were entered in previous editions.
“This year is a milestone for AMAA as the award will hold its ninth edition, and surprisingly the French speaking African countries have finally embraced the award as the best and biggest in Africa. I want to give kudos to the promoters of this award for the commitment and dedication. It is a lot of hard work to really get the French speaking countries to believe in AMAA.
“Before now, we may not get film from more than two to three Francophone countries, but this year it is a clean sweep. We have entries from Togo, Congo, Cote D’voire, Mali, Niger Republic, Benin Republic, Guinea, Senegal and Cameroon. We are happy about this development. The promoters of AMAA have ensured that the integrity of the award remain unassailable and this account for the level of huge participation across Africa and the Diaspora,’’ according to Hussein.
Hussein also reveals that filmmakers from South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Gambia, Zimbabwe, and Sudan, entered their films for the most prestigious reward system for motion picture industry in Africa.
“From Diaspora filmmakers, we received entries from United States, Brazil, Singapore, UK, Trinidad & Tobago, and Jamaica. This is a fitting way to celebrate the 10th edition of AMAA,” he says.
Giving the breakdown of the entries, the chairman of the College of Screeners says 184 short films,108 Diaspora features – documentaries and shorts films, 60 documentaries from Africa, and 319 feature films from within and outside Africa including films made by Africans living abroad were received.
On how far the screeners have gone with their work, he explains that the College of Screeners started full camp on February 25, in Banjul, capital of The Gambia, while the 15-member screening body has members from Nigeria, Ghana, South African, Senegal, Cameroon, Benin Republic, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Togo.
“Before the camping stage which has started in The Gambia, all the films have been pre-selected by members of the academy’s pre-selectors scattered all around Africa. At the pre-camp stage, films are pruned down and weeded out were those that do not meet entry rules, like films that are more than two hours long; films that are inconclusive, language films or films in vernacular that are not subtitled, and films that are generally of poor quality,” explains the College of Screeners boss.
