AMAA call for entries 04

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AMAA call for entries 2014 --

Mon, 09 Dec 2013 09:50

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The Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) invites filmmakers to submit their feature, short and documentary works for consideration for the 2014 event.

Now in its 10th edition, the 2014 AMAA honours and celebrates the best in the filmmaking and the professionals who make the industry the pride of the African continent.

Filmmakers need to submit their entries by 15 January 2014, while nominations will be announced in the first week of March.

Feature length films, shorts and documentary entries qualify for submissions, however, only films produced, premiered and / or released between May 2012 and December 2013 are eligible. Features may not be longer than 120 minutes and shorts should not exceed 40 minutes.

The jury of the AMAA has approved guidelines for the submission of films for the 2014 edition of the awards after its Annual General Meeting (AGM) that took place in Durban, South Africa recently, after agreeing on the continental motion picture reward system.

Attendees of the AGM included Ayo Baku, director of the Pan-African Film Festival (PAFF) Los Angeles; Dr Asantewa Olatunji, co-director of PAFF; Steve Ayorinde, managing director / editor-in-chief of the National Mirror newspaper in Nigeria; Shuaib Hussein, journalist and film critic; June Givanni, an international film curator; Keith Shiri, an international film curator and programme advisor to the London Film Festival; Berni Goldblat, member of the jury of the International Francophone Film Festival of Namur (FIFF Namur) in Belgium; and Prof Hyginus Ekwuazi, lecturer at the department of Dramatic Art, University of Ibadan and also former managing director of Nigeria Film Corporation in Jos, Nigeria.

Givanni presided over the AGM and, speaking on some of the decisions taken by the jurors, she divulged that the jury had made some amendments to the award categories, adding that the awards organisation and the jury were ready to deliver a good 10th-year anniversary event.

We made some changes to the categories and have introduced an award that is named after former President Nelson Mandela called the Madiba Africa Vision Award, which will be given at the discretion of the jury to any film captures the essence and vision of the category, Givanni said. The category for Best Film by African Living Abroad has been cancelled.

She continued: We also renamed two categories after two exceptional Africans who have contributed to the growth and development of the film industry. The Best Film in African Language will now be (known as) the Sembene Ousmane Award for Best Film in African Language while the Best Short Film Award category will now be called the Efere Ozako Award for Best Short Film. AMAA is immortalising the names of these two great men with the awards.

Encouraging young and upcoming film directors to continue to strive for excellence and best practices, Givanni added that a new category Best Director First Feature Film has been introduced.

During the nine years of the AMAA, international music and Hollywood icons such as Danny Glover, Forest Whittaker, Morris Chesnut, Rockmond Dunbar, Angela Basset, Monique, Miriam Makeba, Mario Van Peebles, Jimmy Jean Louis, Hakeem Kae Kazim have hosted and attended the awards.

More than 700 films were entered for the 2013 AMAA from over 40 countries within Africa and the Diaspora.

The AMAA also holds a nominations gala evening during which nominees are announced for different categories across various African cities in an effort to highlight the pan-African vision of the event. In 2013, the gala night was hosted by President Joyce Banda in Lilongwe, Malawi who has now endorsed a prize for the Best Film Depicting Positive Stories About Women.

Said Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, AMAA founder and CEO: There is this great awareness of the possibilities in Africa. This has been an exciting year for African cinema as many big budget productions have been produced on the continent and distribution is becoming more accessible to African films.

Submissions should be made at www.ama-awards.com and each completed entry form must be accompanied by all the supporting materials listed on the submission forms, including the synopsis of the film, the list of credits, five DVD copies of the film and proof of the right to submit.

Visit www.ama-awards.com for more information.

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