The 12th edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards(AMVCA) kicked off on Friday with the Cultural Day event, marking the beginning of activities preceding the Award Night scheduled for Saturday.
Held at the Balmoral Convention Centre on Victoria Island, the event celebrated African culture, fashion, and heritage, with attendees dressed in elaborate traditional outfits.
Celebrities spotted in colourful traditional attire included Omowunmi Dada, Nnenna Mbonu, Uche Jombo, Scarlet Gomez, Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Jason Jae, Imisioluwa Ayanwale, Iyo Prosper, and Ashiogwu Precious.
The theme of this year’s Cultural Day is “Honouring Craft, Celebrating Culture,” showcasing African innovation and storytelling via entertainment and design.
Before to the main presentation on May 9, the organisers had earlier announced the nominees for the 12th edition of the awards.
Veteran actress Joke Silva will replace filmmaker Femi Odugbemi as this year’s Head Judge.
Meanwhile, the 2026 edition features 32 award categories, including three special recognition awards, 11 audience-voted categories, and 18 jury-voted categories.
To broaden pan-African participation, the organisers also introduced two new categories: Best Indigenous Language Film (North Africa) and Best Indigenous Language Film (Central Africa).
Among the top contenders for this year’s awards are Gingerrr, The Herd, My Father’s Shadow, 3 Cold Dishes and The Serpent’s Gift, all of which secured nominations in major categories.
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This comes after the AMVCA announced the nominations for the 2026 awards ceremony.
According to the organisers, the 2026 edition will feature 18 jury-decided categories, 11 audience voting categories, alongside three special recognition awards, including the Lifetime Achievement and Trailblazer awards.
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