The African Movie Academy Awards, popularly known as AMAA Awards, are presented annually to recognize excellence of professionals in the Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n film industry

Film industry

The film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...

, including directors

Film director

A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

, actors, and writers. 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 award presentation is attended by numerous international media representatives, Hollywood celebrities, Nigerian politicians, journalists and actresses & actors from all across Africa. The AMAA awards are widely considered to be Africa's most important film event and one of the most prestigious African film awards. A variety of international observers have fondly called the African Movie Academy Awards the "African Oscars". The most recent ceremony

7th African Movie Academy Awards

The 7th African Movie Academy Awards ceremony was held on 27 March 2011 at the Gloryland Cultural Center in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, to honor the best African films of 2010. The nomination ceremony was held at the Ole Sereni Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya on 25 February 2011...

, honoring films in 2010, was held at the Gloryland Cultural Center in Yenagoa

Yenagoa

Yenagoa is a Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Yenagoa in the south of the area at.The LGA has an area of 706 km² and a population of 353,344 at the 2006 census....

, Bayelsa State

Bayelsa State

Bayelsa State is a state in southern Nigeria in the core Niger Delta region, between Delta State and Rivers State. Its capital is Yenagoa. The language spoken here is Ijaw language and dialects of the Ijaw language such as Nembe, Atissa, Akassa, Ogbia, etc. However, like the rest of Nigeria,...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

 on March 27, 2011.

History

The first African Movie Academy Awards were held in Yenagoa

Yenagoa

Yenagoa is a Local Government Area in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Yenagoa in the south of the area at.The LGA has an area of 706 km² and a population of 353,344 at the 2006 census....

, Bayelsa State

Bayelsa State

Bayelsa State is a state in southern Nigeria in the core Niger Delta region, between Delta State and Rivers State. Its capital is Yenagoa. The language spoken here is Ijaw language and dialects of the Ijaw language such as Nembe, Atissa, Akassa, Ogbia, etc. However, like the rest of Nigeria,...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

 on May 30 2005. All other subsequent African Academy Awards were also held at the same venue, however for security reasons the venue for the 2008 AMAA Awards was moved to Abuja

Abuja

Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria. It is located in the centre of Nigeria, within the Federal Capital Territory . Abuja is a planned city, and was built mainly in the 1980s. It officially became Nigeria's capital on 12 December 1991, replacing Lagos...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

.

Award categories

As of 2011 the African Movie Academy Awards have approximately 26 categories. Some of these include:

• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Best Actress in a Leading Role
• Best Actor in a Leading Role
• Most Promising Actress
• Most Promising Actor
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role
• Best Child Actor
• Best Soundtrack
• Best Screenplay
• Best Film in an African Language
• Most Outstanding Costumes
• Most Outstanding Cinematography
• Most Outstanding Make Up
• Most Outstanding Edit
• Heart of Africa Award