‘Eyimofe’ wins five awards At 2021 AMAA
Nollywood film “Eyimofe (This Is My Desire)” has won five awards at the 2021 Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), including the prestigious Best Director and Best Nigerian Film awards.
The film was nominated in seven of the 26 categories, prior to Sunday’s AMAA.
The GDN Studios-produced film also came out tops in the Best Editing, Best Sound, and Best First Film by a Director categories.
And present to pick up the awards was Chuko Esiri, who directed the award-winning Nigerian feature film alongside his twin brother Arie Esiri.
In the Best Director category, the Esiri brothers beat Gilbert Lukalia (Mission To Rescue), Ryan Kruger (Fried Barry), Khadar Ahmed (The Gravedigger’s Wife), Morris Mugisha (Stain), Oshoveli Shipoh (Hairareb), Ram Ally Kasongo (Nyara/The Kidnapping), and Youssef Chebbi & Ismael (Black Medusa) to the award.
In the award for Best Nigerian Film, Eyimofe, produced by Toke Alex Ibru, Melissa Adeyemo, and the Esiri brothers, emerged tops ahead of Rattlesnake: The Ahanna Story, Ayinla, The Citation, Omo Ghetto: The Saga, La Femme Anjola, Collission Course, and Shadow Parties.
In the Best First Feature Film By A Director category, the Eyimofe beat the likes of Shaina (Beatrice Masvaure Alf, Zimbabwe), African American (Muzi Mthembu, South Africa), The Gravedigger’s Wife (Khadar Ahmed, Somalia), Black Medusa (Youssef Chebbi & Ismael, Tunisia), and Fried Barry (Ryan Kruger, South Africa) to the award.
In the Award for Achievement in Sound category, Eyimofe earned the nod of the AMAA organisers ahead of Hairareb, African American, The Gravedigger’s Wife, and La Femme Anjola.
It was also the same outcome for Eyimofe in the Award for Achievement in Editing category as it got the better of four other films – Mission to Rescue, Omo Ghetto: The Saga, Nyala (The Kidnapping), and Fried Barry – to cart home the prize.
Organised by the Africa Film Academy, the AMAA 2021 Gala and award took place at Lagos, Nigeria.
The AMAA is the biggest gathering of filmmakers and other creatives in Africa, and has been taking place annually since its inaugural event in 2005.
Guardian/Stephanie Ingbian
