The 2016

Africa Movie Academy Awards The Africa Movie Academy Awards, popularly known as AMAA and The AMA Awards, is presented annually to recognize excellence among professionals working in, or non-African professionals who have contributed to, the African film industry. It was fou ...

ceremony was held on Saturday 11 June 2016 at the

Obi Wali International Conference Center Obi Wali International Conference Centre is a convention center in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. It is named in the honor and memory of Obi Wali, a prominent political figure from Ikwerreland and is run by the Government of Rivers State, ...

in Port Harcourt,

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa ...

. The ceremony recognized and honored excellence among directors, actors, and writers in the film industry. The awards night was hosted by

Chris Attoh Chris Attoh (born Christopher Keith Nii Attoh; May 17, 1979) is a Ghanaian actor, film director, on-air personality, television presenter and producer. He is best known as "Kwame Mensah" in Nigerian soap opera ''Tinsel''. Education He attend ...

Mike Ezuruonye Mike Ezuruonye (born 21 September 1982), is a Nigerian actor. Early life and career Mike is from Uzuakoli in Abia State, Nigeria. He was born on 21 September 1981 in Lagos. He attended the Federal Government College, Wukari, Taraba and Archbi ...

and Kgopedi Lilokoe. It aired live on NTA to over 100 million viewers worldwide. As part of the pre-AMAA activities, Rivers State Ministry of Culture and Tourism collaborated with the Africa Film Academy to host a sponsorship night to mobilize corporate sponsors for the awards. Other media partners included

Africa Magic Africa Magic is a collection of Pay TV entertainment channels that focus on African programming, most popularly Nigerian series and movies. ''Africa Magic'', which started off as single channel of the same name, is a brand owned by M-Net and n ...

, OHTV,

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's stat ...

and ONTV.

Nominees and winners

The nominees for the 12th Africa Movie Academy Awards ceremony were announced on 15 May 2016. '' The Cursed Ones'' led with 13 nominations while South African films '' Tell Me Sweet Something'' and ''

Ayanda ''Ayanda'' is a 2015 South African film directed by Sara Blecher and starring Fulu Mugovhani, OC Ukeje, and Nthati Moshesh. The festival title of the film was Ayanda and the Mechanic. The film was picked up for a November 2015 release by indepen ...

'' were tied with 9 nods each. Ghana had a total of 15 nominations with 5 films including ''The Cursed Ones'', ''Rebecca'', ''Cursed Treasure'', ''Daggers of Life'' and ''The Peculiar Life of a Spider''. Winners were announced during the ceremony on 11 June 2016 at the

. '' Eye of the Storm'' won in the categories

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

, Achievement in Costume Design and Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Drama-thriller '' The Cursed Ones'' took home three awards on that same night, including awards for

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

(

Nana Obiri Yeboah Nana Obiri - Yeboah (born March 28, 1983) is a Ghanaian film director. He is known for the 2015 film '' The Cursed Ones'', which received 13 nominations at the Africa Movie Academy Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. Early life Nana ...

), Achievement in Production Design, as well as

Cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to foc ...

( Nicholas K. Lory).

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Honorary awards

Lifetime Achievement

Richard Mofe Damijo Richard Eyimofe Evans Mofe-Damijo (born 6 July 1961), popularly known as RMD, is a Nigerian actor, writer, producer, lawyer, and former journalist. He was also a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State in 2009. In 2005, he wo ...

Joke Silva Joke Silva , MFR is a Nigerian actress, director, and businesswoman. In 1998 she had a major role, starring opposite Colin Firth and Nia Long in the British-Canadian film ''The Secret Laughter of Women''. In 2006, she won " Best Actress in ...

and

Olu Jacobs Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, (born 11 July 1942), known professionally as Olu Jacobs, is a Nigerian actor and film executive. He has starred in several British television series and international films. Olu Jacobs has been hailed by many as one ...

* Tony Akposhore

Multiple nominations and awards

The following films received multiple nominations: * 13 nominations: '' The Cursed Ones'' * 10 nominations: '' Eye of the Storm'' * 9 nominations: '' Tell Me Sweet Something'' and ''

'' * 6 nominations: ''

Fifty 50 (fifty) is the natural number following 49 and preceding 51. In mathematics Fifty is the smallest number that is the sum of two non-zero square numbers in two distinct ways: 50 = 12 + 72 = 52 + 52. It is also the sum of three squares, 50 = 32 ...

'' * 5 nominations: '' Hear Me Move'', ''Missing God'', and '' A Soldier's Story'' * 4 nominations: '' Dry'' and ''Oshimiri'' * 3 nominations: ''

O-Town O-Town (also known as OTWN or OTOWN) is an American boy band formed from the first season of the reality television series ''Making the Band'' in 2000. As of 2015, the group consists of Erik-Michael Estrada, Trevor Penick, Jacob Underwood, and ...

'' The following films received multiple awards: * 3 awards: '' Eye of the Storm'' and '' The Cursed Ones'' * 2 awards: '' Dry'', '' Tell Me Sweet Something'', and ''Soldier's Story''

Dignitaries

Dignitaries present during the occasion were

Governor of Rivers State The Governor of Rivers State is the chief executive of the Rivers State government and is one of the governors of the thirty-six states of Nigeria. The governor is supported by the Deputy Governor, both popularly elected for a term of four yea ...

Ezenwo Nyesom Wike Ezenwo Nyesom Wike (born 13 December 1967), is a Nigerian politician and lawyer who is the sixth and current Governor of Rivers State. He is an Ikwerre from Rumuepirikom in Obio-Akpor, Rivers State. He is a member of the People's Democratic ...

, first lady Eberechi Wike, former Senate President

David Mark David Alechenu Bonaventure Mark , is a retired Nigerian Army Brigadier General and politician. He was President of the Senate of Nigeria from 2007 to 2015 and was the Senator for Benue South Senatorial District Benue State. He is a member of th ...

, Minister of Information

Lai Mohammed Layiwola "Lai" Mohammed (born 6 December 1951) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician. He is currently the Minister of Information and Culture, a position he has held since November 2015. He is also the former National publicity secretary of the ...

and veteran actor

Pete Edochie Chief Pete Edochie, MON (born March 7, 1947) is a Nigerian actor. Edochie is considered one of Africa’s most talented actors, being honored with an Industry Merit Award by Africa Magic and Lifetime Achievement by Africa Film Academy Althoug ...

References

{{Africa Movie Academy Awards 2016 in Nigeria 2010s in Rivers State 21st century in Port Harcourt Africa Movie Academy Awards ceremonies Events in Port Harcourt 2016 film awards 2016 in Nigerian cinema June 2016 events in Nigeria