The Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) has officially rolled out the red carpet for its 21st edition, and the nomination list is nothing short of fire — with Burkina Faso’s Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions and Nigeria’s Lisabi: The Uprising leading the charge.
The star-studded announcement ceremony went down over the weekend at BON Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, drawing a glittering mix of movie stars, directors, producers, and media bigwigs.
Hosted by Nollywood legend Segun Arinze, the night saw familiar faces like Lilian Aluko, Emeka Ossai, Charles Inojie, and Adaora Anyanwu lighting up the red carpet. The event also had top industry figures like Chris Nwandu, Shaibu Husseini (Executive Director, NFVCB), and Steve Ayorinde, representing the AMAA jury.
Also spotted were AMAA board members Raymond Anyiam-Osigwe, George Anyiam-Osigwe, Tony Anih, Teco Benson, and Lancelot Imasuen — all looking sleek and ready for the big reveal.
When the nominations dropped, it was “Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions” that stole the spotlight with 10 nominations, while “Lisabi: The Uprising”, Nigeria’s ambitious historical blockbuster, followed closely with seven.
In the Best Actress race, it’s a fierce continental showdown as Nigeria’s Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Osas Ighodaro, and Shaffy Bello go head-to-head with Rwanda’s Analisa Munyana, South Africa’s Danica De La Ray Jones, Ethiopia’s Getahun Hailu, and Algeria’s Meriem Medjkane.
For Best Actor, it’s another power-packed category featuring Lateef Adedimeji (Lisabi), Keenan Arrison (The Heart is a Muscle), Adjetey Anang (Last Stop), Debebe Eshetu (For Love, For Land, For Power), and Mahamadi Nana (Katanga) — among others.
The Best Film category will see eight African nations vying for top honours, included, Algiers (Algeria), 3 Cold Dishes (Nigeria), The Heart is a Muscle (South Africa), Small Gods (Uganda), For Love, For Land, For Power (Ethiopia), Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions (Burkina Faso), Last Stop (Ghana), and Lisabi: The Uprising (Nigeria).
As always, AMAA 2025 is shaping up to be a celebration of bold African storytelling, cinematic brilliance, and the rising global influence of African film.
With the full nominees’ list out, all eyes are now on who’ll walk away with the golden masks when the awards night finally hits.
