The African Magic Viewers’ Choice Award (AMVCA) can be said to be Nigeria’s and to a large extent Africa’s biggest movie awards event.
One can even tag it as the Oscar Awards of the continent.
While many people would rather not accept that it is an important event that has the power to shape the filmmaking industry be it for good, or bad, I think it is. But, like many Nigerian events, it is unsurprisingly problematic.
Beyond the over-the-top commentary on how much an attendee spends on their attire or how creative —or not— they look, is there any rave about the award ceremony? An event that is supposed to celebrate the art of filmmaking?
We can all agree that the glory days of the AMVCA are quickly getting behind us, but all hope is not lost. Here are 5 pointers that can help revive the greatness of this prestigious award event:
- Involve actual critics, Nollywood press and filmmakers
Involving the press will help make the dealings of the organizer clearer to the audience and, by extension, create a more structured environment for the event. The lack of aforementioned stakeholders has led to a tumultuous ceremony with no finesse.
2. Create an Independent and functional website
This should be different from the MultiChoice or DStv’s website. This website should contain the award ceremony’s history, mission and vision for the industry. Also, an archive of images and winners from past events, fun facts, and statistics, thus helping stakeholders understand the whole process.
Doing this will serve as a point to help nudge viewers’ interest and participation in the event a lot more.
3. Reduce audience voting
Yes, I know it is a “viewers’ choice” award. But, does this reward the efforts of the filmmakers? Who are these viewers? Are they the ones who would vote just because their favorites are nominated or because of how stellar a film, an actor’s performance, or a filmmaker is?.
If the event is to be taken seriously, the level of input from the audience has to be reduced and more power given to the jury who, I believe, has sublime knowledge of the art of filmmaking.
4. Focus on the movies
Let the films be the focus of the award night (and week– in the case of this year’s event) There were too many distractions leading to this year’s event in the case of the runway show, the food festival, the cultural day and so on.
Even though I know that the idea is to employ and involve a wide range of creatives in the award event, these events stole the attention away from the film award event itself.
Let the films, the filmmakers and their awards be the focus, all other things can come after but without distracting us from the primary aim of the award.
5. Broadcast beyond Tv
The influx of many streaming platforms in the region is yet to be explored by the event’s organizers. The event is still very much localized, and this is one of the reasons for its drawbacks.
Other streaming platforms like YouTube and Showmax can be explored to give the show a bigger face and wider range.
It is unhealthy that people look forward to the fashion experience of the event, more than they do the film experience. This is because of how the organizers have positioned the event.
Focus on the points above, and we can begin to have conversations on how to make the AMVCA great, again.
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Disclaimer: This article is the opinion of a Pulse Contributor, it doesn’t reflect the opinions of the company.
