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Egypt is to send a
20-man delegation to the 2011 Africa Movie Academy Awards, following
the success of Egyptian movie, ‘Hanayns Shoe’ which won the Best
Animation prize at the 2010 awards ceremony.

The 2011 AMAA holds
on March 26 at Gloryland Cultural Centre, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Traditionally held in April, this year’s AMAA is happening in March
because of the forthcoming April polls. A nomination night and concert
in Nairobi, Kenya on February 25 and 26 will however precede the awards
night.

Speaking during an
interactive session, the chief executive officer of AMAA, Peace
Anyiam-Osigwe, disclosed that Egypt’s participation will strengthen the
relationship between Nigerian filmmakers and their counterparts in
North Africa. Amongst others, filmmakers Mahmood Ali-Balogun and Victor
Okhai have at various times served on the jury of the Cairo
International Film Festival.

Anyiam-Osigwe added
that, Egypt’s participation will also stress the importance of the
awards to other North African countries and make them realise it’s for
the whole of Africa and not just parts of the continent.

On the judging of
entries, Anyiam-Osigwe disclosed that organisers “put a lot of effort
into trying to make the AMAA one of the most transparent” out there.
She added that winning an AMAA gong is a lifeline to the international
film circuit.

The filmmaker who
equated the AMAA to the BAFTAS and Oscars in the United Kingdom and
United States however decried the apathy of corporate Nigeria to the
awards. She canvassed both public and private support for the awards
and filmmaking in Nigeria.

Home grown brand

Anyiam-Osigwe who
further described AMAA as a home grown brand that projects Nigeria
positively across the world, noted that once government supports the
awards, corporate Nigeria will follow suit.

Citing the example
of Ghana where winners of AMAA awards are hosted by the country’s
president, Anyiam-Osigwe noted that it is time the Nigerian government
did the same. She added that similar initiatives get heavy corporate
support in South Africa. She however commended the United Bank for
Africa (UBA) which supported AMAA for three years. She disclosed that
the bank will still play a role in the nomination night holding in
Kenya.

The filmmaker who premiered her TV series, ‘GRA Women’ last year
also advised her colleagues to take their art more seriously and
improve on it to get public and private support. She said, “If we take
ourselves seriously, government and corporate Nigeria will take us
seriously.”