Toast to big winners of AMAA 2022
The spotlight is on the Big Winners — those who won coveted awards at the just held all glamourous 18the edition of the prestigious Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA). They have been admitted into the unofficial club of leading practitioners of the continent.
Iklas Gafur Vora (Tug Of War)
IKHLAS Gafur Vora returned to Tanzania with the award of AMAA 2022 Best Actress in a leading role for her effort in the Tanzanian fare, Tug of War.
Iklas featured as Yasmin, an Indian-Zanzibari woman in the story of a young freedom fighter and a runaway bride whose romance blossoms against the backdrop of a political uprising in the final years of British colonial rule. The actress ran over seven other actresses, Euodia Samson – Angeliena, Bless Fortune – Road to My Fathers Compound, Osas Ighodaro – Man of God, Ronah Ninsiima – Tembele, Vanessa Vanderpuye – A song from the dark, Nanfuna Sharon – The Wave and Eniola Akinbo – Swallow, to emerge the AMAA Jury favourite for the leading actress category.
Best known for the movie Tug of War, which was voted the Best Picture of AMAA 2022, Iklas has with this win, been admitted into the unofficial club of the continents leading actresses.
Eugene Boateng (Borga)
EUGENE Boateng is AMAA’s current Best Actor in a leading role. The Ghanaian-German born played the leading role of Kojo in the German-Ghanaian production titled Borga, as directed by York Fabian-Raabe.
Set in Ghana and Germany, Borga centres on two brothers, Kojo and Yoofi, who grew up on the electronic waste dump Agbogbloshi, which is based within Ghana’s capital Accra. One day, Kojo meets a Borga from Germany. His dream of going there is born. 10 years later, he leaves his family behind in order to fulfill his dream of becoming a Borga. Arriving in Germany after a five-year odyssey through the continents, he realises quickly that he was chasing a myth. Being ashamed of coming home not having made it, he has to fulfil the picture of the wealthy Borga from Germany.
An actor, writer and singer, the star of Borga, Tribes of Europa, The Typist amongst others, won the German Screen Actors Award for best actor in a leading role with the film in 2021. With this win, Boateng has been admitted into the unofficial club of leading actors of the continent.
Ike Nnaebue (No-U-Turn)
FILMMAKER Ike Nnaebue gave Nigeria something to cheer about in the documentary category. Nnaebue’s award winning documentary, No-U-Turn, was voted the best documentary of the 2022 AMAA. Commissioned by ARTE, funded by WFC, Ile de France and CNC and co- produced by Elda Productions (France), Passion8 Communications Limited (Nigeria) and STEPS (South Africa), No U-Turn sees Nnaebue on a cinematic journey retracing his steps from Lagos to Tangier, the continent-traversing route he first travelled as a teenager in hope of a better life. Along the way, he draws a multinational and multilingual portrait of African migration. Nnaebue’s is a widely travelled filmmaker, writer and editor.
Ijeoma Grace Agu (Swallow)
NOTABLE actress Ijeoma Grace Agu left the venue of the AMAA ceremony hugging the crest for best actress in a supporting role. The star of Oko Asewo (Taxi Driver), Hoodrush and Misfit earned the award for living delightfully the role of Rose in Kunle Afolayan’s Swallow and she delivered on all counts.
Ijay, as the Biochemistry graduate of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, is simply called by close pals came into limelight following her role in Hoodrush. The recipient of the 2014 Best of Nollywood Most Promising actress award rode on the back of Hoodrush to pick up several roles and still counting.
Amil Shivji (Tug of War)
TUG OF WAR, the film by Tanzanian filmmaker Amil Shivji was declared best picture of the AMAA 2022. The movie also received the Ousmane Sembene award for best film in an African language, achievement in sound track and best actress in a leading role.
In Amil Shivji’s adaptation of Adam Shafi’s award- winning Swahili novel, set in 1950s Zanzibar, a romance is buffeted by the harsh waves of British rule and the local militant struggle for liberation.
Shivji was born in Tanzania and is a filmmaker and lecturer at the University of Dar es Salaam. He has written, directed and produced short films that have participated in Rotterdam and FESPACO, winning People’s Choice Award in Zanzibar and Best Director in Africa.
Bolanle Austen- Peters (Man of God)
BOLANLE Austen-Peters or BAP for short and her cast and crew of the Netflix original movie Man of God received two awards— best costume and best Nigerian film at the AMAA’s ceremony. Man of God (MOG) was the only Nigerian movie in contention that got two awards.
The movie centres on Sam (Akah Nnani) who having been scared by his disciplinarian father, Pastor Josiah Obalolu, turns his back on his family, leaving home never to return. Sam’s soul is trapped in two triangles. On one hand, three women vying for his heart and on the other, the love of God, lust for money, and harbored deep resentment for his father wrestle for his soul.
Listed as BAP’s third movie as a director, the award winning film and theatre director, producer, executive producer and Founder and Managing Director of Terra Kulture, an arts and cultural centre in Lagos has earlier directed The Bling Lagosians and Collision Course.
Vusi’Africa Sindane (Surviving Gaza)
VUSI’Africa Sindane returned to South Africa with the award of AMAA 2022 best director. The young director earned the award for helming the crime thriller, Surviving Gaza. The movie, which also received the award of Best Visual Effect and Best Sound, is set against the vibrant Kwaito era in South Africa and it tells the story of 17-year-old Phuzi, who has some difficult choices to make.
Sindane was recently announced as the 2022 Mail and Guardian’s Most Influential Young South African and he also became the first South African to be awarded an Artist in Residence at AFDA. Vusi, as he is called for short, has previously directed Letters of Hope and The Empty Kraal.
