The city of Lagos will reverberate tomorrow evening as African filmmakers and stars gather for the 18th edition of prestigious Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMAA.
The glamorous event, which will be broadcast live on ST Nollywood channels on StarTimes and StarTimes-ON mobile app respectively, will take place at the bespoke Jewel Aeida hall, Lekki phase I, Lagos.
During the week, the organizers announced the singing duo, P-Square as the headliners of the award night. Other performers include songbird, Yinka Davies, Young Jon, Ayo Bankole, Zadok, Matty, Veentage Band, DJ Kenchello, and Gerald Eze.
However, ahead of tomorrow’s show, the organizers graduated a total of 890 students of the African Film Academy sponsored by the Lagos State Government with grants to help them start up in the creative sector. The graduation of the students was part of the week-long activities lined up to herald the award night.
Speaking at event tagged “Film in a Box Graduation Ceremony” held at the Lagos Theatre, Igando in Alimosho, Governor Sanwo-Olu restated his administration’s commitment to collaborate with stakeholders in the entertainment industry to train and acquire skills that would create an ecosystem to give livelihood to creative minds.
He also urged the graduates and other creatives to take advantage of the Lagos States Employment Trust Fund and the State Film Fund, to become self-employed and employers of labour.
Speaking earlier, Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Pharm. (Mrs) Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, said the initiative was to make the youths agents of change in the creative industry and break new grounds to enable them become self-reliant.
She said the concept had been expanded to develop the arts and culture for optimum performance to stimulate economic growth, skills, and job creation to bridge the gap in the state creative industry.
In her remarks, a renowned filmmaker and Chief Executive Officer of the African Film Academy, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, commended the doggedness of the graduates and urged them to explore the creative industry with training received at the academy.
Anyiam-Osigwe said though the mandate was to train 600 people, the Academy went on to train and feed 890 students in Epe, Alimosho, and Badagry. She noted that some of those trained in the Academy have already been engaged by professionals in the creative and film industries.
The graduates and some of their works were presented to Governor Sanwo-Olu after a six-week free intensive training.
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