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The 2011 Africa
Movie Academy Awards will be a week-long event showcasing filmmaking on
the continent as well as the delights of its host state, Bayelsa.
Organisers have announced that the awards, due to hold between March 21
to 27 in Yenagoa, will incorporate many activities, making for a
rounded event that will have something for everyone. The broadening of
the AMAA finale is a departure from the six previous editions of the
awards, which hosts its Nominations event in Nairobi, Kenya, this
weekend. Speaking at a joint briefing with the press held in
conjunction with the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Finance and Budget,
Silva Opuala-Charles, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, AMAA’s Chief Executive
Officer, explained the reasoning behind the repackaging of the film
awards.

Bayelsa benefits

She said the
changes are intended to ensure that Bayelsa State government and its
people can better benefit from playing host to the awards ceremonies.
“Bayelsa and its people have witnessed five consecutive years of AMAA,
attracting international and national visits, most of who are potential
investors and tourists, yet the fanfare is for just one weekend of
every year,” Anyiam-Osigwe said.

“On each occasion,
the people of the state barely find enough time to interact and enjoy
the benefits of social networking with these visitors. Our rich
socio-cultural heritage and vast investment potentials in entertainment
and tourism are often times rarely explored,” she said.

She added that
‘Experience Bayelsa 2011’ is a “conscious but deliberate strategy to
hold down the visitors for at least one week to interact with our local
economy, explore potential areas of investment, and build lasting
networks with our budding talents and upcoming acts in the
entertainment industry.” To be executed in conjunction with the Bayelsa
State Tourism Development and Publicity Bureau, the programme will
include activities that will cater for young talented youth of the
state, aspiring models, indigenous craft makers, musicians and
comedians, amongst others.

‘Kinabuti’

Specifically, the
activities include an ongoing training in film production for 50 youth
of Bayelsa and ‘Kinabuti,’ to be held two weeks before the awards
ceremony. Anyiam-Osigwe disclosed that ‘Kinabuti’ is targeted at rural
based girls with the potentials and qualities of a model, and that
‘Bayelsa 8’, a competitive raw talent hunt for youth interested in
entertainment, will run concurrently with it. The AMAA boss also said
that an art and craft exhibition is included in the package to
encourage local craftsmen, painters, sculptors, and artists.She
disclosed that the AMAA edition of ‘Experience Bayelsa 2011” will also
include a book fair featuring 42 writers from across Nigeria. All the
events, including a boat regatta and traditional wrestling at Oxbow
Lake, Yenagoa, will climax with the awards night on March 27 at the
Gloryland Cultural Centre.

The state governor,
Timipre Sylva, recently approved the establishment of the AMAA/Bayelsa
Foundation to support talented youth in the arts and entertainment.

Ms. Anyiam-Osigwe,
who also spoke about funding, said the Africa Film Academy, owners of
the AMAA franchise, and the state government have collaborated to
secure private sector participation and funding. Funding, especially
through corporate sponsorship, has been one of the major challenges of
the awards in the past, according to sources. Many feel that Corporate
Nigeria readily splash sponsorship money on non-Nigerian initiatives
like the KORA Awards, which Nigerian efforts go without. AMAA
organisers will be hoping for a turnaround, from this year onwards.

Meanwhile, movie makers from all over Africa will be heading to
Nairobi this weekend for the announcement of the film nominees who will
vie for the honours in this year’s awards.