AFRICAN MOVIE ACADEMY AWARDS (AMAA) CULLS 328 ENTRIES; HOLDS NOMINATIONS IN GAMBIA

Entries for the 2012 edition of the annual African Movie Academy Awards have started pouring in torrents.
The prestigious award organization whose vision is to reward the best and brightest in film and cinema have assembled a total of 328 entries across Africa.
Asides that, the one-day event which is mostly held at Bayelsa state will take place at the city of Aquatic Splendor; Lagos State. Gambia will also be hosting its nominations.
Chairman, AMAA's College of Screeners, Mr. Shuaib Hussein revealed that his team of screeners are currently in camp to work on the entries ahead of nominations that will be announced in Banjul, capital of Gambia on March 15, 2012 at a ceremony that will be attended by celebrities, top government officials and captains of industries from Gambia and other African countries.

The breakdown of the 328 entries received by AMAA's regional offices in Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg and
Nairobi include:
Short films- 88
Documentaries-57
Africans in Diaspora-43
Animations-6
Features films from Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, Namibia, Guinnea, Senegal, South Africa, Kenya, Cameroun, Uganda, Algeria, Egypt and Zimbabwe and others-134
Speaking further on the increase in entries this year over previous years, Mr. Hussein noted that filmmakers and allied practitioners in Africa have accepted the award as their own coupled with the fact that winning at AMAA has become a career-defining moment.
"The growing awareness of AMAA, the integrity of its screening process, the global recognition
that comes with winning and the opportunities afforded winners  has
given rise to more participation at The AMAAs.  Winning at The AMAAs enhances the reputation and visibility of any filmmaker in Africa and helps their marketing and financial drive among other benefits". He explained.
On the nomination event, Naomi Lucas, Head, AMAA Business Development Unit said that the choice
of Gambia this year is to continue AMAA's tradition of ensuring Pan-African participation in its events.
It also offers an exotic experience for celebrities and motion picture practitioners to explore the beauty and splendor of the West African country that has become one of the most important tourist destinations in the world.
"One of our objectives at AMAA is to unite Africa through film; we facilitate this process by ensuring exposure to and collaboration with film makers from within the continent" She confirmed.