Nse Ikpe Etim will be hosting the Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMAA, for the second time in a row.
After hosting the 2017 edition in Lagos, Nigeria, the talented actress and two-time nominee of the awards ceremony will be hosting 2018 AMAA in Kigali, Rwanda.
Nse, a celebrated movie star from Nigeria is popular for her roles in “Guilty Pleasures,” “Reloaded,” “Journey to Self,” “A Trip to Jamaica” among others.
Nse Ikpe-Etim hosts 13th edition of AMAA. Organizers of African Movie Academy Awards announced Nse Ikpe-Etim as the host of the 2017 edition of the awards ceremony.
The 13th edition of the awards ceremony which was scheduled to hold on June 3, 2017, as part of the Lagos at 50 celebrations, will now hold on July 15, 2017, at the Eko Hotels, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The nominations announcement held on May 13, 2017, at the Kigali Convention Centre, Rwanda, with Sambasa Nzeribe, Majid Michel, Richard Mofe-Damijo, “76” and “A Trip to Jamaica” emerging nominees.
Dubbed AMAA 2018, this year’s event is scheduled for October 20, at the Intare Conference Arena in Gasabo District, Kigali. It is the 14 edition of the awards. The wards had earlier been scheduled for September 22, at the Radisson Blu Hotel and Convention Center.
AMAA was launched in 2005, by Nigerian filmmaker, and entertainment executive Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, as a platform to recognise excellence of professionals in the African film industry. It has been described as one of the biggest and most credible jury-based reward system for filmmakers and film professionals in the motion picture industry from Africa, and Africans in the diaspora.
Organisers unveiled the list of nominees on August 3rd, in Lagos, Nigeria.
However, no Rwandan filmmaker made it to the list of nominees in the 27 different award categories.
The Government of Rwanda, through the Rwanda Convention Bureau and Rwanda Development Board, agreed to host this year’s edition, in line with its Pan-African and Africa integration agenda.
“It remains a fact that AMAA is the longest running Pan-African awards in the whole of Africa. Similar awards in film, music, and the visual arts have come and gone. Since 2005, we have worked to keep and protect the integrity of the awards. This is why we can partner with Rwanda, a country where excellence and professionalism drive business and governance,” remarked AMAA founder Peace Anyiam-Osigwe in a press statement on the AMAA website.
Osigwe added that this year, visitors to the awards, especially Africans will not struggle to gain visas as these will be processed on arrival.
She further thanked President Paul Kagame and other African leaders that are at the forefront of easing movement of persons within the continent.
“We call upon other African countries to adopt a visa on arrival policy if we can’t remove visa completely. Our people will prosper and there will be shared prosperity when we can travel and do business and even for holidays easily within Africa,” she said.
A lawyer by training, Osigwe is credited for pioneering the screening of Nigerian (Nollywood) films at international film festivals.
Three day affair:This year’s awards will kick off with pre-gala events on October 18, and 19, according to Anny Batamuliza, of New Dawn Associates, a local Tours and Travel agency, that is in charge of organising the event.
“We have small round table events of about 200 people (VVIPs) that will be talking about different aspects of film production, hosting different speakers from different movie industry sectors. There is also a makeup session, where top Nigerian makeup artists will be coming to Rwanda to train 40 Rwandans in the art of professional makeup. This will be done in partnership with the Workforce Development Authority (WDA).