March 2025

Entertainment

AMVCA 2025: Organizers unveil nominees

The organisers of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) have unveiled nominees of the 2025 edition of the awards. The AMVCA is one of the most prestigious film and television awards in Africa, recognizing outstanding achievements in the industry. Organized by MultiChoice and hosted by Africa Magic, the AMVCA was first held in 2013 and has since become a significant event in African entertainment.

The awards celebrate excellence in acting, directing, scriptwriting, cinematography, and various technical categories. One of the unique aspects of the AMVCA is that it includes viewer-voted categories, allowing fans to support their favorite actors, movies, and TV shows.

Over the years, the AMVCA has served as a platform to spotlight African talent, launching careers and bringing more global recognition to Nollywood and other African film industries. The event, usually held in Lagos, Nigeria, is also known for its glamorous red carpet moments, where celebrities showcase stunning fashion.

Past winners include industry icons such as Richard Mofe-Damijo, Genevieve Nnaji, Osas Ighodaro, Funke Akindele, Ramsey Nouah, and Kunle Afolayan, among others. The awards have evolved to introduce new categories, including social impact and digital content creation.

The AMVCA remains a crucial event for African cinema, driving growth, innovation, and international visibility for African filmmakers.

Nominees include

Best Digital Content Creator

The category for Best Digital Content Creator highlights some of Africa’s most influential digital storytellers, including:

  • Iyo Prosper Adokiye
  • Taaooma
  • Elozonam Ogbolu, Hoviare Freedom, Chiamaka Uzokwe
  • Jide Pounds Ibitoye
  • Ariyiikedimples, Brainjotter

Best MultiChoice Talent Factory

This category celebrates emerging filmmakers from the MultiChoice Talent Factory program, with nominations including:

  • Gone
  • Everything Light Touches
  • The Immersive Alarm
  • Deadbeat
  • Nwananga
  • Rivals in Time

Best Scripted M-Net Original

Recognizing outstanding scripted series, nominees in this category include:

  • Uriri
  • All Mine
  • My Fairytale Wedding
  • Italo
  • The Caller
  • Kam U Stay

Best Indigenous Language (West Africa)

  • Seven Doors
  • Lisabi: The Uprising
  • Kaka
  • Anikulapo: The Rise of the Spectre
  • Mai Martaba

Best Indigenous Language (East Africa)

  • The Caller
  • Empty Grave
  • Makosa ni Yangu
  • Sabotage
  • Wa Milele (Forever?)

Best Indigenous Language (South Africa)

  • Walvis Tale
  • The Vow
  • Mwizukanji
  • Man of Gold
  • Lukas

 

Best Supporting Actress

  • Meg Otanwa (Inside Life)
  • Tina Mba (Suspicion)
  • Ireti Doyle (All’s Fair in Love)
  • Ini Dima-Okojie (Skeleton Coast)
  • Mercy Aigbe (Farmer’s Bride)
  • Omoni Oboli (Wives on Strike 3)
  • Darasimi Nadi (Aburo)

Best Supporting Actor

  • Gabriel Afolayan (Inside Life)
  • Adedayo Adebowale (Lisabi)
  • Aliu Gafar (Seven Doors)
  • Femi Jacobs (Freedom Way)
  • RMD (Christmas in Lagos)
  • Uzor Arukwe (Suspicion)
  • Mike Afolarin (House of Gaa)
  • Efa Iwara (Princess on a Hill)

Best Lead Actress

  • Chioma Chukwuka (Seven Doors)
  • Gbubemi Ejeye (Farmer’s Bride)
  • Uzoamaka Onuoha (Agemo)
  • Uche Montana (Thin Line)
  • Uzoamaka Aniunoh (Phoenix Fury)
  • Hilda Dokubo (Wives on Strike 3)
  • Bimbo Ademoye (Anikulapo: Rise of the Spectre)

Best Lead Actor

  • Gideon Okeke (Tokunbo)
  • Bucci Franklin (The Weekend)
  • Femi Branch (House of Gaa)
  • Thapelo Makoena (Skeleton Coast)
  • Bimbo Manuel (Princess on a Hill)
  • Stan Nze (Suspicion)
  • Femi Adebayo (Seven Doors)
  • Adedimeji Lateef (Lisabi: The Uprising)

Best Movie

  • Lisabi: The Uprising
  • Skeleton Coast
  • Suspicion
  • Inkabi
  • House of Ga’a
  • Freedom Way
  • Christmas in Lagos
  • Farmer’s Bride

Best Director

  • Robert O. Peters (Skeleton Coast)
  • Norman Maake (Inkabi)
  • Bolanle Austen-Peters (House of Ga’a)
  • Awam Amkpa (The Man Died)
  • Daniel Emeka Oriahi (The Weekend)
  • Femi Adebayo, Adebayo Tijani, Tope Adebayo (Seven Doors)

Best Writing in a Movie

  • The Weekend
  • Skeleton Coast
  • Freedom Way
  • Phoenix Fury
  • A Ghetto Love Story
  • House of Ga’a
  • Christmas in Lagos

Best Documentary

  • Walvis Tale
  • Dundun
  • O.Y.O (On Your Own)
  • Women of Salt: The Resilience of Ebonyi’s Women
  • I Will Remember You

Best Editing

Princess on a Hill (Laughter Ephraim, Peter Ugbede)

Inkabi (Tongai Furusa)

Christmas in Lagos (Martini Akande)

Soft Love (Holmes Awa, Paballo Modingoane)

Lisabi: The Uprising (Anthill Studios)

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 Arts

World Poetry Day Café: 10 Poets from Nigeria and Cuba to Honor Prof. Wole Soyinka

In celebration of World Poetry Day 2025, ten distinguished poets from Nigeria and Cuba will take center stage to pay tribute to Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka at the 6th Providus Bank Poetry Café. Themed “Sand Dune and Ocean Bed: The Template of Dispersal,” the event is set to take place at the Terra Kulture Arena, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Friday, March 21.
This special edition, titled “An Evening with Wole Soyinka,” will not only honor the literary icon but also mark the beginning of the United Nations Second Decade for People of African Descent (2025–2034). It aligns with the ongoing UN Anniversary for Enslaved Peoples and Reparatory Justice, reinforcing the global conversation on cultural heritage and historical continuity.
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Curated by Jahman Anikulapo for the Culture Advocates Caucus (CAC) and supported by Providus Bank, the series was initiated in 2020 under the encouragement of Prof. Soyinka, a former UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. According to Anikulapo, “We could not think of a more iconic and preeminently qualified figure than Prof. Soyinka to serve as the grand patron and guiding spirit of this initiative, inspiring the many young poets who have graced our stage over the years.”
A Fusion of Nigerian and Cuban Poetic Voices
The evening will feature five Nigerian poets alongside five Cuban poets, showcasing a rich tapestry of poetic expression. The selected Nigerian poets are:
•Kafayat Quadri (Kaffe of Life)
•Evelyn Osagie (Evelyn D’Poet)
•Tijani Usman (Tijaywebster)
•Yusuf Àlàbí Balógun (Àrẹ̀mọ Gemini)
•Chinelo Nwora
Representing Cuba as the “Special Guest-Nation” are:
•Alex Pausides
•Edelmis Anoceto Vega
•Israel Domínguez
•Emiliano Sardinas
•Sinecio Verdecia Díaz (based in Canada)
The evening will also feature a 15-piece Cuban musical orchestra and a performance by multi-instrumentalist Wole Alade.
“In curating this lineup, we have carefully selected Nigerian poets with diverse presentation styles to offer our Cuban guests a broad and immersive experience of Nigerian poetry and performance culture,” Anikulapo stated.
Cultural Exchange Beyond Lagos
Beyond the main event in Lagos, the Cuban delegation—comprising a 15-member troupe led by the Republic of Cuba’s Minister of Culture, Hon. Alpidio Alonso Grau—will embark on a cultural tour in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on March 23. This visit, guided by Prof. Soyinka’s vision for cultural immersion, will include a special performance, as well as tours of significant heritage sites such as Olumo Rock and the Adire market in Itoku.
The 6th Providus Bank Poetry Café promises to be a landmark celebration of poetry, cultural exchange, and shared history, bringing together eminent literary figures, arts patrons, industry leaders, and poetry enthusiasts.
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