In a surprise event on October 11 in Lagos, the nominations for this year’s Africa Movie Academy Awards were announced to an audience of some press members and several industry veterans.
Notably, there are quite a number of nominations for African films still on the festival circuit, with Nigeria’s My Father’s Shadow absent from the proceedings moderated by Segun Arinze.
Leading the nominations this year is Burkina Faso’s Katanga, followed by South Africa’s The Heart is a Muscle, Nigeria’s Lisabi: The Uprising and soon-to-be-released 3 Cold Dishes.
The Nigerian titles leading the line include Lisabi, 3 Cold Dishes, Red Circle, Freedom Way, Amanyanabo and The Masked King.
The 21st AMAA ceremony will take place on November 9.
(Click to Follow the What Kept Me Up channel on WhatsApp)
See the full nominations in 27 categories below
Efere Ozako Award For Best Short Film
- The Missing Piece – Kenya
- Vandals – Mozambique
- Echoes From The Past- Nigeria/UK
- Abu Judy -Egypt
- Chikha-Queen – Morocco
- MIA – Burkina Faso
- Stigma – Tunisia
- LEES WAXUL – Senegal
- The last Harvest – Cape Verde
Jubril Malafia Amaa 2025 Award For Best Animation
- Dawn – Cameroon
- My Brother, My Brother- Egypt/France/Germany
- The Travails of Ajadi – Nigeria
- Nkizzi’s First Day – Uganda
- Amara and the Spirit of Nyamagunda – Uganda
- Monologue – Nigeria/UK
Best Documentary
- The Journey East – DRC
- Double Minority – Nigeria
- The Empty Grave – Tanzania/UK
- Khartoum – Sudan/UK
- Ancestral Visions of the Future -Lesotho/France/Germany
Ousmane Sembene Award For Best Film in an African Language
- Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions -B/Faso
- Small gods – Uganda/UK
- Lukas: Namibia
- Lobola Man – South Africa
- Lisabi: The Uprising
- The Heart is a Muscle: South Africa
Michael Anyiam Osigwe Award For Best Film By An African Living Abroad
- Lemohang Jeremiah – Ancestral Visions of the Future – Lesotho/France/Germany
- Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions – Dany Kouyate (B/Faso)
- Khartoum – Ibrahim Snoopy – Sudan
Best Diaspora Short
- Cartes – USA
- Superman Doesn’t Steal – USA
- Harvest – USA
Best Diaspora Documentary
- The Billy Preston Story – USA
- Carnival: ‘They Can’t Steal Our Joy – Canada
- Missing Rio Doce – Brazil/France
- Rediscovering Fenon – USA/Algeria/Martinique
Best Diaspora Narrative Feature
- Sisters Maid – Brazil
- Romeo N Juliet 4EVA – Jamaica
- The Model, The Mannequin and Me – USA
Achievement in Production Design
- Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions
- The Heart is a Muscle
- 3 Cold Dishes
- Last Stop
- Red Circle
Achievement in Costume Design
- Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions
- The Lost Days
- The Masked King
- The Serpent’s Gift
- Hunting Jessica Brok
Achievement in Makeup
- Spelonk
- Lisabi: The Uprising
- Amanyanabo
- The Masked King
- The Heart is a Muscle
Achievement in Soundtrack
- Recall
- Freedom Way
- Old Righteous Blues
- Kites
- Le Point- The Bridge
Achievement in Visual Effects
- For Land, For Love, For Power
- Lisabi
- Spelonk
- Hunting Jessica Brok
- Amanyanabo: The Eagle King
Achievement in Sound
- Algiers
- Old Righteous Blues
- Le Point – The Bridge
- Hunting Jessica Brok
- Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions
Achievement in Cinematography
- 3 Cold Dishes
- Old Righteous Blues
- Spelonk
- Small gods
- For Land, For Love, For Power
- The Heart is a Muscle
- Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions
Achievement in Editing
- For Love, For Land, For Power
- Spelonk
- The Heart is a Muscle
- 3 Cold Dishes
- Algiers
Achievement in Screenplay
- Old Righteous Blues
- Le Point – The Bridge
- For Love, For Land, For Power
- Small gods
- Red Circle
- Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions
National Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB) Award For Best Nigerian Film
- Lisabi: The Uprising
- Recall
- Freedom Way
- The Serpent’s Gift
- Amanyanabo
- 3 Cold Dishes
- Red Circle
- The Masked King
Best Young/ Promising Actor
- Alejandro Cooper- Lukas
- Turinayo Jatham – Small gods
- Tiwalola Adebola-Walter – Freedom Way
- Kosi Ogborueche – Kill Boro
- Ruby Akubueze – 3 Cold Dishes
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- Kojo Boakye – Two of a Kind
- Femi Jacobs – Freedom Way
- Clemento Ashietey – Last Stop
- Abdulai Saidu Kamara – Code of Honor
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
- Zohra Chetioui – Le Point- The Bridge
- Tina Mba – The Serpent’s Gift
- Fadela Brown – Old Righteous Blues
- Bukky Wright – Red Circle
Best Actor in a Leading Role
- Keenan Arrison – The Heart is a Muscle
- KalkidanTessema – For Love, for Land, For Power
- Adjetey Anang – Last Stop
- Lateef Adedimeji – Lisabi: The Uprising
- Ayden Croy- Old Righteous Blues
- Bizimana Hussain – Small gods
- Mahamadi Nana – Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions
- Nabil Asli – Algiers
Best Actress in a Leading Role
- Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman – The Serpent’s Gift
- Analisa Munyana – Mucoma: The Battle of the Couple
- Shaffy Bello – The Masked King
- Danica De La Ray Jones- Hunting Jessica Brok
- Tsigereda Bekele – For Love, For Land, For Power
- Florence Mariserena – Small gods
- Meriem Medjkane – Algiers
- Osas Ighodaro, Fat Toure and Maud Guerard – 3 Cold Dishes
Best Debut Feature Film By a Director
- The Lost Days – Wingonia Ikpi
- Small gods- Asher Rosen
- Algiers- Chakib Taleb-Bendiab
- Kill Boro– Obayuwana Courage
- The Heart is a Muscle – Imran Hamdulay
- Freedom Way – Afolabi Olalekan
Best Director
- Niyi Akinmolayan– Lisabi: The Uprising (Nigeria)
- Imran Hamdulay – The Heart is a Muscle (South Africa)
- Asurf Oluseyi – 3 Cold Dishes (Nigeria)
- Asher Rosen- Small gods – (Uganda)
- Theodros Teshome -For Love, For Land, For Power (Ethiopia)
- Dani Kouyate – Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions (B/Faso)
- Kwabena Gwansah – Last Stop (Ghana)
- Chakib Taleb-Bendiab – Algiers (Algeria)
Best Film
- 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 -B/Faso
- Last Stop – Ghana
- Lisabi: The Uprising – Nigeria
The 21st Africa Movie Academy Awards will take place on November 9, 2025
Become a patron: To support our in-depth and critical coverage—become a Patron today!
Join the conversation: Share your thoughts in the comments section or on our social media accounts.
