In a bid to organize a world class event, the organizers of the annual Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) recently unveiled plans towards making this year’s outing better than the previous editions.
One of such is the announcement that popular Hollywood stars like: Morris Chestnut, Lynn Whitfield, Maya Gilbert and Rockmund Dumbar will be in the country as special guests as the ceremony holds.
At the media parley which held during the week at Ikeja, Lagos, the organizers assured that there will be plenty of music from Nigerian star, 2face Idibia, Vivian, a music star from Senegal as well as Nigeria’s internationally-recognised star, Bukola Elemide popularly known as Asa.
Surprisingly, the awards will hold in Lagos for the first time in its eight-year journey.
Speaking at the gathering, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, founder and CEO of AMAA, said the choice of Lagos was due to consideration of logistics. The awards had, since its inception in 2005, been hosted and sponsored by Bayelsa State.
“We are happy to have Lagos State Government and Airtel on board and other sponsors like Arik Air, Lufthansa, Bayelsa State Government who are still behind us. It is a big year for AMAA as we turn eight and there will be lots of films from several countries in the world and other areas of excellence for which AMAA is known, Peace said.
Wangi Mba Uzoukwu, head of Brands and Communication of Airtel who represented the telecom company’s CEO, said: “We are delighted to partner with AMAA as it is a platform for us to contribute to the growth of the African movie industry. The coming together of the two brands is significant in many ways and goes to show the interest of Airtel as a brand that connects with its customers.”
Speaking further on why the awards was moved to Lagos, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe maintained that the enlarged space and increased security that Lagos provide makes it a better location. She said there was pressure on them to move the award out of Nigeria so that other people can feel it, noting that out of the 180 nominees; only 48 were Nigerians, while others came from other African countries or the Diaspora. This, she said, was the reason the nominees party moves around each year to enable other nations feel it as an African affair.
The awards proper holds on Sunday, April 22, at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, with Haiti-born Hollywood star, Jimmy Jean- Louis as host, he will be assisted by O.C Ukeje.
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