The unpredictable and diverse 13th African Movie Academy Awards

chibumga izuzu

July 16, 2017 2:21 AM

The 13th African Movie Academy Awards celebrated a range of movies with its choice of nominees and winners, led by Senegal.

"76" poster

The least predictable awards ceremony happened on Saturday, July 15, 2017, at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos State, during the 2017 African Movie Academy Awards.

The major awards show before AMAA was the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, which is expected to predict what the awards season will look like.

When the AMAA nominees were announced, the four winners from the 2017 AMVCA major categories made the list, alongside contenders from other African countries.

In an unexpected turn of events, none of the major winners from the 2017 AMVCA walked away with a statuette.

The night saw a variety of films win awards.

"Félicité," a Senegalese movie about a woman who sings in a bar in Kinshasa, swept the AMAAs night, winning seven awards, including Best Actress, Best Actor in a supporting role and Best film.

Nigeria's win for the night kicked off with "Oloibiri," which won the Achievement Make-up award.

Other wins include Best Animation, Achievement in design production, Best Nigerian Film and Best comedy, making it a total of five statuettes for the host country.

South Africa was represented by Akin Omotoso, whose critically acclaimed movie "Vaya" earned him the best director win.

The movie also won the Achievement in Screenplay and Achievement in Sound.

Receiving the award, Omotoso revealed that it took him eight years to produce the movie.

Based on the true story of a group of homeless people, it took seven scriptwriters a total of six years to bring the "Vaya" story to life.

Mali was represented by Daouda Coulibaly's "Wulu," which won the Best First Feature Film by a Director and an Achievement in Sound.

Tunisia emerged one of the top winners of the night with its Best Actor win by Jahwar Soudani for his role in "Last Of Us."

The movie also won an Achievement in Visual Effect award.

For her role as Dr. Zara Zimmerman in Kunle Afolayan's "The CEO," Beninese Grammy award-winning singer Angélique Kidjo won the Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

Other countries include Rwanda for Best Short Film, the Democratic Republic of Congo for Best Documentary and Uganda for Achievement in Costume design.

The 13th African Movie Academy Awards celebrated a range of movies with its choice of nominees and winners.

chibumga izuzu