The Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) have celebrated the best of the African film industry since 2013 and will hold their tenth edition this year. After an exciting three-day ninth edition in 2023, the award organisers, Africa Magic, in association with MultiChoice Nigeria, will recognise and celebrate the best African film talent in a grand ceremony later this year.
To this end, Africa Magic, in association with MultiChoice Nigeria, is calling on all African filmmakers to submit their movies and films publicly exhibited or broadcast between December 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023, for this year’s edition.
The entry portal opens on January 15th, 2024, and closes on February 14th, 2024. All films (aired in cinemas or otherwise), made-for-television movies, and television series, so long as they meet the terms and conditions, are eligible.
Speaking on the forthcoming tenth edition, the Head of Content and Channels West Africa, MultiChoice, Dr. Busola Tejumola, said: “Over the past decade, Africa Magic has steadfastly upheld its commitment to spotlighting authentic African stories, especially those that mirror our diverse and rich cultures. As we mark the 10th anniversary of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, we embark on a bold initiative to reevaluate our award categories to further align with global trends and benchmarks. It would involve retiring specific categories, streamlining others, and revisiting the voting and non-voting classifications.”
Changes made by the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards:
- The AMVCA best performance award categories are now limited to four:
- Best Lead Actress
- Best Lead Actor
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Supporting Actress
- No more awards for the Best Actor and the Best Actress in a Comedy.
- AMVCA awards recognising works in Indigenous languages have been reduced to 3 (from 7), leaving awards for the Best Indigenous Language from East Africa, West Africa, and Southern Africa.
- Awards for Igbo, Yoruba, Hausa, and Swahili movies or TV series have been discontinued.
The tenth edition will award winners in 27 categories—16 non-voting and 9 audience voting categories—and two recognition awards—lifetime achievement and trailblazer awards. The performance awards have undergone streamlining and will now fall under the categories of Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, with winners determined by the jury deviating from the previous audience voting system.
This jury, consisting of experienced filmmakers from across the continent and led by a head juror, will determine the winners in the 16 non-voting categories, while the public will determine the winners in the remaining 8 audience voting categories. As always, Deloitte will audit the judging process and verify the voting results.
The non-voting categories include Best Director, Art Direction, Cinematography, and Costume Design. More categories include Best Writing in a Movie and TV Series, Best Movie and TV Series, Best Short Film, Best Documentary, and Best Sound Design, Editing, and Makeup.
The public can vote in categories like Best Scripted and Unscripted Africa Magic Original, Best Digital Content Creator, Best Multichoice Talent Factory Film, and Best Indigenous Africa Magic Original.
Dr. Busola Tejumola added: “The AMVCAs remain committed to celebrating the incredible talent in the African film and television industry, the amazing people who do the work in front and behind the cameras, and you, our viewers, who continue to support the hard work of the television and film industry. Thank you for being an integral part of the AMVCA journey.”
To enter the awards, all filmmakers must prepare the movie for consideration with an online submission. Visit https://www.africamagic.tv/AMVCA for submissions and more details.
The tenth edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards is brought to you by Africa Magic in association with MultiChoice, with Amstel Malta as the headline sponsor.
