Africa Movie Academy Awards does not favour Nigerians – Country Director

The Country Director of the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), Judith Oluwole Kuwornu has debunked the perception that the Awards is biased towards Nigerian nationals.

Speaking in an interview on Asaase Radio, she said every African has an equal chance of being nominated based on their talent.

Kuwornu emphatically stated that Nigerians, like all other Africans, must work hard to be recognised for the various categories.

Since 2005, the AMAA’s have recognised excellence in cinematic achievements.

“Nigerians are fighting the awards every day, but what makes the awards very different and very solid is that we have an academy of screeners, which is highly selected people across Africa.

“We have the jury, which are selected across the world, including the Hollywoods. Their names are there; you can go there.

“These are people you cannot influence in anything. What can you give them? We don’t know the awards. The organisers don’t get involved in what they do,” she said on October 12.

Kuwornu noted that as organisers, they do not engage in the screening process for the various nominees.

“We don’t know anything. We only organise. There are years, I remember a year that Run Baby Run cleared all the awards.

“That’s a film from Ghana by Emmanuel Appiah. Yes, he’s the son of this soil. So that has nothing to do with whether Nigeria fights the awards because it’s Southern Africa that comes to clear the awards all the time,” she explained.

She, however, added that South Africans pay particular attention to the movies they produce, which turn out well.

“In the Southern Africa space, you see, technically they are very sound. They pay attention to the details. It can take them five years to produce a film. Eastern Africa is the same.

“So, the contributions of AMAA in African space were that it makes good work get recognised; initially we thought we [Nigerians] were the King Kong back in West Africa. It makes us sit on our toes and do the right thing,” Judith Oluwole Kuwornu said.

Celebrated Ghanaian actress, Jackie Appiah, made the nominee list for best actress in a leading role for her performance in the movie “Red Carpet.”

Jackie faces competition from Girley Jazama, Oyin Oladejo, Unati Faku, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Laura Pepple and Ife Irele.

The 20th Africa Movie Academy Awards is set to dazzle at Balmoral Center, Ikeja on 2 November 2024.

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