The 12th edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards lit up Eko Hotel and Suites on Saturday night as filmmakers, actors, and digital creators from across the continent gathered to celebrate excellence in African entertainment.
The award ceremony, which began at 7 p.m., honoured outstanding achievements in film, television, digital storytelling, and indigenous language productions, with winners announced across several competitive categories.
Broadcast live on Africa Magic channels via DStv and GOtv, the event saw My Father’s Shadow emerge as one of the biggest winners of the night.
The movie clinched the prestigious Best Movie award, while Akinola Davies Jr won Best Director for the project. The film also secured awards for Best Writing (Movie) through Wale Davies and Best Sound/Sound Design.
In the acting categories, Linda Ejiofor won Best Lead Actress for her role in The Serpent’s Gift, while Uzor Arukwe claimed Best Lead Actor for his performance in Colours of Fire.
Ejiofor also added another trophy to her collection by winning Best Supporting Actress for The Herd.
The Best Supporting Actor award went to Bucci Franklin for his performance in To Kill a Monkey.
In the indigenous language categories, Lisabi: A Legend Is Born produced by Lateef Adedimeji won Best Indigenous Language Film (West Africa).
Other regional winners included Addis Fikir for East Africa, Mabanda for Central Africa, Artal Alhanin: Our Memories for North Africa, and Tlhaho Ya Mosadi for Southern Africa.
The Trailblazer Award was presented to Uche Montana in recognition of her rising influence in the industry.
Veteran Nollywood stars Sola Sobowale and Kanayo O. Kanayo received the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Awards for their enduring contributions to African cinema.
Reality television also had its moment as Nigerian Idol won Best Unscripted Series, while Inimba emerged victorious in both the Best Indigenous M-Net Original and Best Scripted Series categories.
In the digital content category, Leave To Live by Emmanuel Kanaga and Sophia Chisom won Best Digital Content Creator, beating entries from several popular online creators, including Maryam Apaokagi-Greene, popularly known as Taaoma.
