South African film wins 3 awards at the African Movie Academy Awards AMAA

Published by: Jane bond on 18th Apr 2009 | View all blogs by Jane bond

Gugu and Andile, directed by Minky Schlesinger, walked away with 3 awards at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in Nigeria last week, including Best Picture in and African Language, Most Promising Actor and Most Promising Actress.

The film was nominated in 10 categories, and came home with awards for most promising Actor (Litha Booi) and most promising actress (Lungelo Dhladha), and the award for Best Film in an African Language.

GUGU & ANDILE is a 90minute feature film produced by Luna Films (now rebranded as Fireworx Media) as a part of the Shakespeare in Mzanzi series for SABC in 2008. In the tradition of Romeo & Juliet, it's a love-story set against the backdrop of the war that raged through South Africa's townships in the early 1990s. It tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers, unlucky enough to be born into families on opposite sides of the political and cultural divide...

Producer Bridget Pickering said: 'This is an incredible recognition for the years of hard work that the team put into developing the script, and despite the challenge of a limited budget, the production crew and director Minky Schlesinger pulled out all the stops under testing shooting conditions in the Thokoza township in the middle of the rainy season to bring the film in on budget and still focus on creating a compelling story with strong visuals that remained true to that difficult period in South Africa's history.'

Producer Neil Brandt, who was in Nigeria with the lead cast, director and production designer Flo Ballack (nominated for best Art Direction), to collect the awards, said: 'The AMAAs was a truly fascinating experience, with the selection of films exceptional, and of course the opportunity to engage with fellow filmmakers from across the continent is an opportunity not to be missed. The awards ceremony itself was a well-produced live televised event, with stars such as Salief Keita providing entertainment, and Hollywood Danny Glover and Forest Whitaker providing some glamour.

Our young lead actors, for whom this was their first time out of South Africa, could hardly believe it when they were personally congratulated by Danny and Forest! I strongly recommend that more South Africans submit their films to the AMAAs in future years. We at Fireworx are certainly going to be using this opportunity to explore future co-production opportunities with filmmakers in Nigeria.'

For more information on Fireworx Media, go to www.fireworxmedia.co.za.
For more information on the AMAAs go to http://www.ama-awards.com/

AMAA 2009 NOMINATION LIST (Fireworx Media nominations only)

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND
1. From a Whisper
2. Battle of the Soul
3. Seventh Heaven
4. Gugu and Andile
5. Grey Focus

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION
1. Small Boy - Michelle Bello
2. Five Apostles - Ifeanyi Onyeabor
3. Agony of the Christ - Jude Odoh
4. Gugu and Andile - Flo Ballack
5. Revolution - Eddybongo Uka

MOST PROMISING ACTOR
1. Litha Booi - Gugu and Andile
2. Mavila Anthana Keriario - Battle of the Soul
3. Ruffy Samuel - Dead End
4. Segun Adefila - Arugba
5. Sherrif Ramzy - Seventh Heaven

MOST PROMISING ACTRESS
1. Bhaira Mcwizu - Cindy’s Note
2. Bukola Awoyemi - Arugba
3. Lydia Farson - Scorned
4. Lungelo Dhladhla - Gugu and Andile
5. Mfouemon Bea. Flore - Ma Saah Sah

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
1. Femi Adebayo - Apaadi
2. Abubakar Mvenda and Ken Ambani - From a Whisper
3. Mac Mathunjwa - Gugu and Andile
4. Yemi Blaq - Grey Focus
5. Joel Okuyo Prynce - Battle of the Soul

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
1. Aggie Kebirungi - Battle of the Soul
2. Mercy Johnson - Live to Remember
3. Mosunmola Filani - Jenifa
4. Daphney Hlomuka - Gugu and Andile
5. Chika Ike - The Assassin

BEST FILM IN AFRICAN LANGUAGE
1. Gugu and Andile - South Africa
2. Arugba - Nigeria
3. Mah Saah Sa - Cameroun
4. Uyai - Nigeria
5. Apaadi - Nigeria

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY
1. From a Whisper - Marius Van Graan
2. Seventh Heaven - Ramses Marzouk
3. Cindy’s Note - Izu Ojukwu
4. Gugu and Andile - Greg Heimann
5. Battle of the Soul - Stephen Njero and Tony Matomi

BEST PICTURE
1. From a Whisper - Kenya
2. Arugba - Nigeria
3. Gugu and Andile - South Africa
4. Battle of the Soul - Uganda
5. Seventh Heaven - Egypt

BEST DIRECTOR
1. Wanuri Kahiu - From a Whisper (Kenya)
2. Tunde Kelani - Arugba (Nigeria)
3. Minky Schlesinger - Gugu and Andile (South Africa)
4. Math Bish - Battle of the Soul (Uganda)
5. Saad Hendawy - Seventh Heaven (Egypt)