The 21st Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), held at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja, celebrated the best of African cinema with a night full of talent, recognition, and achievement. From actors to directors, and from Nigeria to South Africa and Burkina Faso, the awards highlighted the stories and craft shaping the continent’s film industry today.
Burkina Faso’s ‘Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions’ took home Best Film and Best Director, while Nigeria’s ‘3 Cold Dishes’, co-produced by Burna Boy, won Best Nigerian Film and Achievement in Production Design. Lateef Adedimeji claimed Best Actor in a Leading Role for ‘Lisabi: The Uprising’, and South Africa’s ‘The Heart is a Muscle’ also earned multiple awards.
Ruby Akubueze was named ‘Best Young/Promising Actor’. With winners from across Africa and the diaspora, AMAA 2025 showcased the continent’s talent, creativity, and growing global impact.
AMAA 2025 Winners
Best Film
‘Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions‘ (Burkina Faso) – WINNER
‘Algiers’ (Algeria)
‘3 Cold Dishes’ (Nigeria)
‘The Heart is a Muscle’ (South Africa)
‘Small Gods’ (Uganda)
‘For Love, For Land, For Power’ (Ethiopia)
‘Last Stop’ (Ghana)
‘Lisabi: The Uprising’ (Nigeria)
Best Director
Dany Kouyate – Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions (Burkina Faso) – WINNER
Niyi Akinmolayan – ‘Lisabi: The Uprising’ (Nigeria)
Imran Hamdulay – ‘The Heart is a Muscle’ (South Africa)
Asurf Oluseyi – ‘3 Cold Dishes’ (Nigeria)
Asher Rosen – ‘Small Gods’ (Uganda)
Theodros Teshome – ‘For Love, For Land, For Power’ (Ethiopia)
Kwabena Gwansah – ‘Last Stop’ (Ghana)
Chakib Taleb-Bendiab – ‘Algiers’ (Algeria)
Best Nigerian Film (NFVCB Award)
‘3 Cold Dishes’ – WINNER
‘Lisabi: The Uprising’
‘Recall’
‘Freedom Way’
‘The Serpent Gift’
‘Amanayanbo’
‘Red Circle’
‘The Masked King’
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Lateef Adedimeji – ‘Lisabi: The Uprising’ (Nigeria) – WINNER
Keenan Arrison – ‘The Heart is a Muscle’
Debebe Eshetu – ‘For Love, For Land, For Power’
Adjetey Anang – ‘Last Stop’
Ayden Croy – ‘Old Righteous Blues’
Bizimana Hussain – ‘Small Gods’
Mahamadi Nana – ‘Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions’
Nabil Asli – ‘Algiers’
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Florence Mariserena – Small Gods – WINNER
Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman – ‘The Serpent Gift’
Analisa Munyana – ‘Mucoma: The Battle of the Couple’
Shaffy Bello – ‘The Masked King’
Danica De La Ray Jones – ‘Hunting Jessica Brok’
Getahun Hailu – ‘For Love, For Land, For Power’
Meriem Medjkane – ‘Algiers’
Osas Ighodaro, Fat Toure, Maud Guerard – ‘3 Cold Dishes’
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Clemento Ashietey – ‘Last Stop’ – WINNER
Kojo Boakye – ‘Two of a Kind’
Femi Jacobs – ‘Freedom Way’
Abdulai Saidu Kamara – ‘Code of Honour’
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Tina Mba – ‘The Serpent Gift’ – WINNER
Zohra Chetioui – ‘Le Point: The Bridge’
Fadela Brown – ‘Old Righteous Blues’
Bukky Wright – ‘Red Circle’
Best Debut Feature Film by a Director
‘The Heart is a Muscle‘ – Imran Hamdulay – WINNER
‘The Lost Days’ – Wingonia Ikpi
‘Small Gods’ – Asher Rosen
‘Algiers’ – Chakib Taleb-Bendiab
‘Kill Boro’ – Obayuwana Courage
‘Freedom Way’ – Afolabi Olalekan
Best Film in an African Language
‘Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions‘ (Burkina Faso) – WINNER
‘Small Gods’ (Uganda)
‘Lukas’ (Namibia)
‘Lobola Man’ (South Africa)
‘Lisabi: The Uprising’ (Nigeria)
‘The Heart is a Muscle’ (South Africa)
Best Animation
‘My Brother, My Brother‘ (Egypt/France/Germany) -WINNER
‘Dawn’ (Cameroon)
‘The Travails of Ajadi’ (Nigeria)
‘Nkizzi’s First Day’ (Uganda)
‘Amara and the Spirit of Nyamagunda’ (Uganda)
‘Monologue’ (Nigeria/UK)
Best Short Film
Lee’s Waxul (Senegal) – WINNER
‘The Missing Piece’ (Kenya)
‘Vandals’ (Mozambique)
‘Echoes From The Past’ (Nigeria/UK)
‘Abu Judy’ (Egypt)
Chikha-Queen (Morocco)
‘MIA’ – (Burkina Faso)
‘Stigma’ (Tunisia)
‘The Last Harvest’ (Cape Verde)
Best Documentary
Khartoum – Sudan/UK-WINNER
The Journey East (DRC)
‘Double Minority’ (Nigeria)
‘The Empty Grave’ – Tanzania/UK
‘Ancestral Visions of the Future’ (Lesotho/France/Germany)
Technical Awards
Achievement in Production Design:
‘3 Cold Dishes’ – WINNER
‘Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions’
‘The Heart is a Muscle’
‘Last Stop’
‘Red Circle’
Achievement in Costume Design
‘Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions – WINNER
‘The Lost Days’
‘The Masked King’
‘The Serpent Gift’
‘Hunting Jessica Brok’
Achievement in Make-Up
‘Lisabi: The Uprising’ – WINNER
‘Spelonk’
‘Amanayanbo’
‘The Masked King’
‘The Heart is a Muscle’
Achievement in Soundtrack
‘Old Righteous Blues’
‘Recall’
‘Freedom Way’
‘Kites’
‘Le Point: The Bridge’
Achievement in Visual Effects
‘For Land, For Love, For Power’ – WINNER
‘Lisabi’
‘Spelonk’
‘Hunting Jessica Brok’
‘Amanayanbo: The Eagle King’
Achievement in Sound
Algiers-WINNER
‘Old Righteous Blues’
‘Le Point: The Bridge’
‘Hunting Jessica Brok’
‘Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions’
Achievement in Cinematography
‘The Heart is a Muscle’ – WINNER
‘3 Cold Dishes’
‘Old Righteous Blues’
‘Spelonk’
‘Small Gods’
‘For Love, For Land, For Power’
‘Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions’
Achievement in Editing
‘The Heart is a Muscle’ – WINNER
‘For Love, For Land, For Power’
‘Spelonk’
‘3 Cold Dishes’
‘Algiers’
Achievement in Screenplay
‘Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions’ – WINNER
‘Old Righteous Blues’
‘Le Point: The Bridge’
‘For Love, For Land, For Power’
‘Small Gods’
‘Red Circle’
Diaspora Awards
Best Diaspora Short
‘Superman Doesn’t Steal’ (USA)-WINNER
‘Cartes’ – (USA)
‘Harvest’ (USA)
Best Diaspora Documentary
‘Rediscovering Fenon’ (USA/Algeria/Martinique) -WINNER
‘The Billy Preston Story’ (USA)
‘Carnival: They Can’t Steal Our Joy’ (Canada)
‘Missing Rio Doce’ (Brazil/France)
Best Diaspora Narrative Feature
‘Romeo N Juliet 4EVA’ (Jamaica)-WINNER
‘Sisters Maid’ (Brazil)
‘The Model, The Mannequin and Me’ (USA)
