By Yinka Akanbi
A select jury will decide winners of the Best Actor and Best Actress in a Leading or Supporting Role categories of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) in lieu of the previous public voting system.
This may not be unconnected to criticisms that star actors with huge social media following sweep all the awards, and not necessarily the actor or actress with the best acting performance.
Altogether, there will be 16 categories for non-voting, including Best Lead Actor and Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, Best Director, Art Direction, Cinematography, and Costume Design, 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.
Then eight categories for the audience voting, which include Best Scripted Africa Magic Original, Best Unscripted Africa Magic Original, Best Digital Content Creator, Best Indigenous Language (for West, East, and Southern Africa), Best Multichoice Talent Factory Film, and Best Indigenous Africa Magic Original.
AMVCA will be giving out 25 awards, with two special recognition awards.
MultiChoice Head of Content and Channels West Africa, Busola Tejumola, confirmed via a press release that submissions are now open.
Entries are expected from films publicly exhibited or broadcast between December 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023, between January 15 and February 14, 2023.
In her words, “As we mark our tenth anniversary of the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, We are embarking on a bold journey to reevaluate our award categories, and further align with global trends and benchmarks. This involves retiring certain categories, streamlining others and revisiting both voting and non-voting classifications.”
The awards ceremony is slated to hold in May 2024.
