The 21st Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) are officially underway, as the full list of nominations for 2025 was unveiled in an exclusive ceremony attended by members of the press and prominent veterans of the African film industry.
The event, moderated by Nigerian actor Segun Arinze, spotlighted the continent’s brightest cinematic talents and showcased a rich variety of stories from across Africa and the diaspora.
Emerging as the frontrunner this year is Burkina Faso’s Katanga: Dance of the Scorpions, racking up numerous nominations across major categories, including Best Film, Best Director, and several technical fields. Hot on its heels are South Africa’s The Heart is a Muscle, Nigeria’s historical epic Lisabi: The Uprising, and the soon-to-be-released 3 Cold Dishes.
Nigerian cinema maintains a strong showing in this year’s competition, with a lineup led by Lisabi, 3 Cold Dishes, Red Circle, Freedom Way, Amanyanabo, and The Masked King. These titles secured nominations across acting, production, and screenplay categories, showcasing the industry’s diversity and growing global appeal.
Full List of 2025 AMAA Nominations (27 Categories):
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 – Burkina Faso
- Small gods – Uganda/UK
- Lukas – Namibia
- Lobola Man – South Africa
- Lisabi: The Uprising – Nigeria
- 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
- Dany Kouyate – Katanga: Dance of The Scorpions – Burkina Faso
- Ibrahim Snoopy – Khartoum – 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
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
- Kalkidan Tessema – 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, 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 (Burkina 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 – Burkina Faso
- Last Stop – Ghana
- Lisabi: The Uprising – Nigeria
The AMAA 2025 awards night will take place on November 9.
