By Ogova Ondego
Published March 13, 2012

The annual Africa Movie Academy Awards is set to announce nominees for her eighth AMAA in Banjul, the Gambia, on March 17, 2012.

AMAA, that holds her gala night in Lagos on April 22, 2012, received 328 submissions from filmmakers across Africa through her regional offices in Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg and Nairobi. They included 88 shorts, six animations, 57 documentaries, 134 features from Africa and 43 entries from the African Diaspora. Among the African countries with entries were Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Namibia, Guinnea, Senegal, South Africa, Kenya, Cameroun, Uganda, Algeria, Egypt and Zimbabwe.

Giving the details of the entries to the Press in Lagos, Shaibu Husseini, chairman of AMAA’s College of Screeners, said the nominees would be unveiled in the Gambian capital “at a big ceremony that will be attended by celebrities, top government officials and captains of industry on March 17, 2012.”

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Saying the number of entries had grown from 220 in 2011 to the current 328, Husseini noted that filmmakers and allied practitioners in Africa had “accepted the award as their own coupled with the fact that winning at AMAA has become a career-defining moment”.

“The growing awareness of AMAA and the fact that filmmakers are becoming aware of the need to put their works up for mention has given rise to more participation at AMA Awards.  Winning at AMAA enhances reputation of any filmmaker in Africa and helps their marketing and financial drive among other benefits,” Husseini said.”AMAA is the only big thing now in Africa and so only a mention puts a filmmaker’s game running.”

Also speaking on the nomination event, Naomi Lucas, Head Business Development of AMAA said that the choice of Gambia this year is to offer a new experience for celebrities and motion picture practitioners to explore the beauty and splendour of the West African country that has become one of the most important tourist destinations in the world.

“Many of our people are used to going to Europe and America for events and they know little about this beautiful continent. One of the objectives of AMAA is to unite Africa and celebrate our diversity. Previous nomination events have been held in South Africa, Ghana, Kenya and Burkina Faso,” said Lucas.