The Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA) ceremony is just around the corner, and for the first time this year, the majority of the award categories are not open to audience voting. This means that a jury of experienced filmmakers will decide the selections of the award winners in 16 categories.

What Kept Me Up (WKMUp) has decided to become our own Jury and predict the winners in 9 key 2024 AMVCA categories. Additionally, we provided our audience (on Twitter) another chance to predict their own winners. On May 11, the winner of this prediction attempt takes all bragging rights.

This year’s nominations as always are teeming with heavyweight contenders, fan favourites, and work with international acclaim, with titles like Femi Adebayo-produced Jagun Jagun, C.J. Obasi’s Mami Wata, BB Sasore’s Breathe of Life and Tolu Ajayi’s Over the Bridge leading the charge.

To be clear, our picks do not represent the sentiment of the Viewers Choice Jury, are not meant to be disparaging, and have not been made with personal preference for any individual nominees.

Best Indigenous Language Film (West Africa)

Our pick is none other than Mami Wata which is unarguably the most celebrated and most-traveled film from West Africa in the last year. It’s a film that draws from rich cultural roots, delves into the realms of folklore and boasts great use of indigenous language. These attributes make it a very deserving contender.

Mami Wata (C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi)- WKMUp’s pick

Jagun Jagun (Femi Adebayo)- Audience’s pick

Ijogbon (Kunle Afolayan)

Orisa (Odunlade Adekola)

Nana Akoto (Kwabena Gyansah)

Best Supporting Actor

In this fiercely competitive category, our prediction is the charismatic Demola Adedoyin playing a young Reverend Timi in Breath of Life. From the first time we see him in this film, he demands much of the audience’s attention, willing us to believe in and pay attention to the character and the film as a whole.

Alexx Ekubo (Afamefuna)- Audience’s pick

Demola Adedoyin (Breath of Life)- WKMUp’s pick

Itele d Icon (Jagun Jagun: The Warrior)

Gregory Ojefua (This is Lagos)

Timini Egbuson (A Tribe Called Judah)

Levi Chikere (Blood Vessel)

Ropo Ewenla (Over the Bridge)

Best Supporting Actress

Given that the majority of these nominees had brief appearances (or what might be termed as guest appearances if we are keeping a buck) that were not quite memorable, the only fitting winner, and even the audience agrees here is Genoveva Umeh. She undeniably brought a lot of heart and soul to Breath of Life. This year, this category has also been revamped to include comedic and dramatic performances.

Joke Silva (Over the Bridge)

Fathia Williams (Jagun Jagun — The Warrior)

Bimbo Akintola (The Black Book)

Genoveva Umeh (Breath of Life)- WKMUp’s pick/Audience’s pick

Eliane Umuhire (Omen)

Tana Adelana (Ijogbon — Chaos)

Ejiro Onojaife (The Origin: Madam Koi Koi)

Best Lead Actor

This category is very well contended with strong performances and great presence from the actors, however, only one can win and our pick is Stan Nze. The simple reason lies in the fact that this film unveils a side of him we haven’t seen before and we hope Nollywood explores more of it.

Wale Ojo (Breath of Life)- Audience’s pick

Stan Nze (Afamefuna)- WKMUp’s pick

Marc Zinga (Omen)

Gideon Okeke (Egun)

David Ezekiel (Blood Vessel)

Richard Mofe Damijo (The Black Book)

Adedimeji Lateef (Jagun Jagun — The Warrior)

Gabriel Afolayan (This is Lagos)

Best Lead Actress

Funke Akindele has won this category a couple of times in the past and fortunately, we believe she has another chance to take it home again this year in a revamped category that combines comedic and dramatic performances. Her portrayal of Jedidah Judah, a single mother to five children in the film is sincere and avoids leaning too much into theatrics. 

Segilola Ogidan (Over the Bridge)

Lucie Debay (Omen)

Omowunmi Dada (Asiri Ade)

Ireti Doyle (The Origin: Madam Koi Koi)

Adaobi L. Dibor (Blood Vessel)

Evelyne Ily (Mami Wata)

Kehinde Bankole (Adire)- Audience’s pick

Funke Akindele (A Tribe Called Judah)- WKMUp’s pick

Best Writing TV Series

The Best Writing in a Series category does not leave much to dwell on which is why we believe that the strongest contender is Visa On Arrival. The reason for this is pretty straightforward. It’s the only show in this list that achieves what it sought to do: ‘get some laughs’ and that it does very well.

Skinny Girl in Transit Season 7 (Bunmi Ajakaiye, Ifeanyi Barbara Chidi and Abdul Tijani- Ahmed)

Wura Season 2 (Jeffery David Musa, Olumide Kuti & Esther Oyiza Kokori)- Audience’s pick

Visa on Arrival (Bovi Ugboma)- WKMUp’s pick

MTV Shuga Naija (The MTV Staying Alive Foundation)

Volume (Mona Ombogo)

Masquerades of Aniedo (Timendu Aghahowa & Motunde Akiode)

Slum King (Donald Tombia, Ifeanyi Barbara Chidi, Fatimah Binta Gimsay & Xavier Ighorodje)

Best Writing in a Movie

Our top pick for Best Writing in a Movie this year is, Over The Bridge. Its subtle use of language and skillful avoidance of overly expository dialogue lends itself to a coherent plotline that takes viewers on a captivating journey alongside beautifully crafted characters. Its writing is worth celebrating.

Breath of Life (BB Sasore)- Audience’s pick

Over The Bridge (Tosin Otudeko)- WKMUp’s pick

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (Tunde Babalola)

Jagun Jagun: The Warrior (Adebayo Tijani)

Afamefuna (Anyanwu Sandra Adaora)

A Tribe Called Judah (Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele, Collins Okoh and Akinlabi Ishola)

Mami Wata (C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi)

Best Director

It feels unfair to have to pick one because the people in this category gave their hearts to their individual projects, however, our director’s pick is C.J ‘Fiery’ Obasi. He went in with a vision for his unprecedented film and was able to translate that excellently on screen in a cohesive manner.

Moses Inwang (Blood Vessel)

Adebayo Tijani And Tope Adebayo (Jagun Jagun — The Warrior)

BB Sasore (Breath of Life)- Audience’s pick

Johnscott Enah (Half Heaven)

C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi (Mami Wata) – WKMUp’s Pick

Kayode Kasum (Afamefuna)

Tolu Ajayi (Over The Bridge)

Best Movie

Being dubbed the Best Movie isn’t just about snagging the top spot, it’s about embodying excellence in every aspect of filmmaking. Who else but Mami Wata, a film that has been described as a cinematic masterpiece? It effortlessly lays claim to this title with its storytelling, breathtaking visuals, and execution. It’s no surprise it was chosen to represent Nigeria on the prestigious Oscars stage.

Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti

Breath of Life- Audience’s pick

Over The Bridge

Blood Vessel

A Tribe Called Judah

The Black Book

Mami Wata- WKMUp’s Pick

All in all, we are all winners and we can’t wait to see the winning films and acts chosen by the actual Jury for this year’s AMVCAs.

Voting officially closes on April 28, 2024, at 10:00 pm WAT, ahead of the 10th edition of the prestigious awards, which will be held from May 10 – 11th in Lagos.

See the full nominations list here.

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