The Africa Movie Academy Awards, popularly known as AMAA and The AMA Awards, are presented annually to recognize excellence among professionals working in, or non-African professionals who have contributed to, the African film industry. It was founded by Peace Anyiam-Osigwe and is run through the Africa Film Academy. The awards are aimed at honouring and promoting excellence in the African movie industry as well as uniting the African continent through arts and culture. The AMAA Awards are among Africa's most notable film events and have been sometimes referenced as the "African Oscars". Established to honor excellence in the African film industry, AMAA quickly became known as the "African Oscars," serving as a critical platform to recognize the achievements of African filmmakers, actors, and other industry professionals.

History

The first Africa Movie Academy Awards was held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, on 30 May 2005. All other subsequent African Academy Awards before 2012 were held at the same venue, except for the 2008 AMAA Awards which was moved to Abuja, FCT for security reasons. In 2012, the awards ceremony was held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos in Lagos State. The 9th and 10th edition saw AMAA returning to Yenagoa, while the 2015 ceremony was held outside Nigeria for the first time.

Categories

As of 2017, the Africa Movie Academy Awards had 28 merit categories. They include:

Discontinued categories

Several categories have been renamed, retired, or merged. Below is a list of some of the retired categories.

Special categories

Jury members

Awards statistics

The statistics below are valid as of the 13th edition (2017).

Most nominations

By a film

10 and up

By a director

Twice and more:

By an actress

Twice and more:

By an actor

Twice and more:

Most wins

By a film

Five times and more:

By country

The "Best Film" category has been won by a Nigerian film for a record six times.

By an actress

By an actor

Other notable records