SA films big at AMAA

Nominations rolling in … Otelo Burning has received 13 nods for this year’s African Movie Academy Awards.

A South African film has received the most nominations at this year’s African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).

The nominations for the fifth instalment of the prestigious awards were announced in Banjul, the capital of Gambia, last Saturday. Otelo Burning received 13 nominations. The other movie which is flying the country’s flag high is How to Steal 2 Million, got 11 nominations.

Directed by Sara Blecher (Surfing Soweto) and shot in Durban, Otelo Burning tells the story of a group of township youngsters who discover the joy of surfing. It is set in 1989, against the backdrop of brewing conflict between two political groups in Lamontville.

The film was nominated for awards in the Best Film, Best Director, as well as all the leading role categories.

Other movies which drew the judges’ attention include Nigeria’s Benin-set historical epic Adesuwa, which received ten nominations, Ghana’s civil war film Somewhere in Africa with seven, the Nigerian-South African xenophobia-themed co-production Man on Ground, and Kenya’s Rugged Priest.

Nigeria received the most nominations – 52 – while South Africa has 45 nominations.

Aside from being the continent’s most prestigious awards for filmmakers, the awards are also becoming more popular and received 108 more entries this year. The 328 entries included 134 feature films, 88 short films, 57 documentaries, and six animations. Africans in the Diaspora entered 43 items for consideration while the rest of the entries came from the 23 countries across the continent.

According to AMAA’s College of Screeners chairperson Shuaib Husseini, the growing awareness of AMAA, the integrity of its screening process, the global recognition that comes with winning, and the opportunities afforded to winners has given rise to an increase in entries.

“Among other benefits, winning at an AMAA enhances the reputation and visibility of any filmmaker in Africa and helps their marketing and financial drives.”

The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday, April 22. It will be hosted by Heroes star Jimmy Jean-Louis. The awards will be held in Lagos, rather than Bayelsa in Nigeria for the first time.