Morris Chestnut, Rockmond Dunbar, Asa, 2Face and others for 2012 AMAA

Lagos, Nigeria is set to host Africa and the international film community at the eighth Africa MovieAcademy Awards (AMAA), taking place this Sunday, 22 April 2012, at the Expo Centre, Eko Hotel & Suites. At the World Media Conference held in Lagos recently, AMAA founder Peace Anyiam Osigwe announced “Africa Rising” as the theme of this year’s awards.

             Rockmond Dunbar 

Some of the biggest names from black Hollywood will be at The AMAAs, including Emmy winner and Golden Globe nominee Lynn Whitfield (The JosephineBaker Story and Without a Trace); Morris Chestnut (American Horror Story, Boyz in the Hood); Rockmond Dunbar (Prison Break,Sons of Anarchy) and Maya Gilbert (General Hospital, Days of Our Lives).

                  Lynn Whitfield

Heroes star Jimmy Jean-Louis will host the prestigious awards, which will include performances from Asa, 2Face Idibia and Senegal’s Viviane Ndour.  AMAA received 328 entries from across Africa in 2012, up from 220 in 2011. Nigeria has a narrow lead with 52 nominations, followed closely by South Africa with 45, Ghana with 17, and Kenya with 14. South Africa’s Otelo Burning scooped the most nominations (13), followed by South African film How 2 Steal 2 Million (11) and Nigeria’s Benin-set historical epic Adesuwa (10).  Ghana’s civil war film Somewhere in Africa has seven nominations, as does the Nigerian-South African xenophobia-themed coproduction Man on Ground. Kenya’s Rugged Priest, Ghana’s Ties That Bind and South Africa’s State of Violence all have six.

The real focus, however, is on African films made by Africans in Africa. “The purpose of The AMAAs is to encourage and reward creativity and to celebrate our people, ” says Peace. “Africa offers a lucrative film market because our filmmakers produce movies that African audiences can identify with and relate to their everyday lives.

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