Posted by 
Over the years, the AMVCAs have celebrated talents and the best bodies of work produced in the year under review.
Considering the nominations, ‘Over The Bridge’ is set to have a big night on May 11, 2024, at the AMVCA award ceremony. However, in a poll by Netng to determine which film deserves to win the AMVCA10 ‘Best Movie’ category, 80% of the participants chose ‘Breath of Life’ as a deserving winner. Funke Akindele’s ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ claimed 15% of participants’ votes, and the remaining 5% voted for ‘The Black Book,’ ‘Funmilayo Ransome Kuti,’ and ‘Blood Vessel,’ Over The Bridge’ and ‘Mami Wata’ did not receive any votes. This is unsurprising as these movies are yet to be shown across cinemas in Nigeria.
As ‘Breath of Life’ led, the polls for the best movie award, the lead actor, Wale Ojo, also floored other actors in the ‘Best Lead Actor’ category while ‘Lateef Adedemeji’ comes a close second for his compelling role as Gbotija in ‘Jagun Jagun – The Warrior.’ However, the jury could take a different route and vote for Richard Mofe-Damijo for his role in ‘The Black Book.’ Many critics had lauded him for taking on the daring role and delivering with his acting.
In the best actress category, the competition is as fierce. Ireti Doyle’s performance as Mother Superior was phenomenal. Yet, critics placed Segilola Ogidan’s role in ‘Over the Bridge’ on the same pedestal. Although Funke Akindele’s ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ broke records with its box office numbers, critics believe the current lineup lowers her chances of getting the award.
The 10th AMVCAs will be held on Saturday, May 11, 2024.
Here are our AMVCA predictions below.
Best Lead Actor
Wale Ojo (Breath of Life)
Stan Nze (Afamefuna)
Marc Zinga (Omen)
Gideon Okeke (Egun)
David Ezekiel (Blood Vessel)
Richard Mofe-Damijo (The Black Book)
Lateef Adedimeji (Jagun Jagun – The Warrior)
Gabriel Afolayan (This is Lagos)
Our Prediction: Wale Ojo (Breath of Life)
Wale Ojo does a stunning job of interpreting his character, Timi. His character portrayal was nuanced and a perfect expression of emotional turmoil. We could also say the same for Lateef Adedimeji as ‘Gbotija.’ His expressions, body language and temperament – grit and compassion – embodied the traits of a true warrior. Lateef’s performance is more impressive in his portrayal of grief and pain.
However, the overall storyline and performances in ‘Breath of Life’ edges Wale Ojo in this category.
Best Lead Actress
Segilola Ogidan (Over the Bridge)
Lucie Debay (Omen)
Omowunmi Dada (Asiri Ade)
Ireti Doyle (The Origin: Madam Koi Koi)
Adaobi Dibor (Blood Vessel)
Evelyne Ily (Mami Wata)
Kehinde Bankole (Adire)
Funke Akindele (A Tribe Called Judah)
Our Prediction: Ireti Doyle (The Origin: Madam Koi Koi)
Ireti Doyle gave an incredible performance as Mother Superior. It’s undebatable. Her portrayal of a manipulative and stern character was well-executed.
Although the same can be said for Segilola Ogidan in ‘Over The Bridge,’ Ireti trumps this performance with experience. With Kehinde Bankole, Biodun Stephen’s ‘Sista’ instead of ‘Adire’ will have given her a better stake at the prize.
Best Supporting Actor
Alexx Ekubo (Afamefuna)
Ademola Adedoyin (Breath Of Life)
Ibrahim Yekini ( Jagun Jagun – The Warrior)
Greg Ojefua (This Is Lagos)
Timini Egbuson (A Tribe Called Judah)
Levi Chikere (Blood Vessel)
Ropo Ewenla (Over The Bridge)
Our Prediction: Ibrahim Yekini ( Jagun Jagun – The Warrior)
Ibrahim Yekini gave one of the best performances in Jagun Jagun. His portrayal of Gbogunmi and that iconic “Wo! Mo loogun o” line remains evergreen in our memories.
Despite Alex Ekubo giving arguably his best performance yet in ‘Afamefuna’ and Ademola Adedoyin embodying his role in ‘Breath of Life,’ their performances are trumped by Ibrahim Yekini’s performance in Jagun Jagun.
Best Supporting Actress
Ajoke Silva (Over the Bridge)
Fathia Balogun (Jagun Jagun – The Warrior)
Bimbo Akintola (The Black Book)
Genoveva Umeh (Breath of Life)
Eliane Umuhire (Omen)
Tana Adelana (Ijogbon – Chaos)
Ejiro Onojaife (The Origin: Madam Koi Koi)
Our Prediction: Genoveva Umeh (Breath of Life)
Ejiro Onojaife portrayed the pain and strength of her character in Madam Koi Koi in a beautiful yet haunting manner. Fathia Balogun does a great job as supporting actor in Jagun Jagun, and Joke Silva’s performance in Over the Bridge makes this category a very tough one but it’s Genoveva Umeh’s performance that gets our nod.
Best Cinematography
MAMI WATA
Blood Vessel
Over The Bridge
Breath of Life
Jagun Jagun (The Warrior)
Ijogbon (Chaos)
Omen
Our Prediction: Breath of Life – Ola Cardoso
Breath of Life’s cinematography is top-notch. The film stands out for its outstanding visuals and incredible shots, especially the underwater shots. Ola Cardoso’s use of angles and movement with wide shots that enhance the story and close-ups that capture every cast emotion elevates the storytelling in the film.
With Jagun Jagun, Adeoluwa Owu captured the well-choreographed fight scenes beautifully, and the camera angles worked perfectly to capture the progression of the story. However, the vividity of Breathe of Life’s cinematography is one of the many reasons we predict that the film is taking the grand prize.
Best Costume Design
Demola Adeyemi (Over The Bridge)
Bolanle Austin Peters, Ituen Basi, Folake Coker and Clement Effanga (Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti)
Lola Awe (Jagun Jagun – The Warrior)
Bunmi Demilola Fashina (Mami Wata)
Daniel Obasi (Breath of Life)
Our Prediction: Lola Awe (Jagun Jagun – The Warrior)
Every film in this category is deserving as attention was paid to appropriate costumes for the respective films. However, Jagun Jagun – The Warrior’s costume design stands out for the richness in colours, traditional material (Damask and Aso oke) usage and historical accuracy, especially the accessorising of these attires to differentiate the different ranks of people in the film.
Best Writing In A Movie
Breath of Life (BB Sasore)
Over The Bridge (Tosin Otudeko)
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti (Tunde Babalola)
Jagun Jagun: The Warrior (Adebayo Tijani)
Afamefuna (Anyanwu Sandra Adaora)
A Tribe Called Judah (Olufunke Ayotunde Akindele, Collins Okoh and Akinlabi Ishola)
Mami Wata (CJ Fiery Obasi)
Our Prediction: Breath of Life (BB Sasore)
Breath of Life does a good job at introducing us to the central character – the protagonist – and creates a compelling story enough to enable viewers identify with him. In this case, the story introduces us to Timi, a former pastor who has lost his faith and Elijah, an unemployed graduate on his journey to self discovery, who happens to be a devout christian. Elijah is riddled with the challenge of navigating a household filled with loss.
To better tell the story BB Sasore uses the antagonist (Baby Fire) to cause incredible damage that causes conflict and leads to an inciting incident that changes everything for Timi. The progression of the journey, crisis and eventual resolution is what makes BB Sasore’s ‘Breath of Life’ a top runner in this category.
Best Director
Moses Inwang (Blood Vessel)
Adebayo Tijani And Tope Adebayo (Jagun Jagun: The Warrior)
Bb Sasore (Breath Of Life)
Johnscott Enah (Half Heaven)
C.J Fiery Obasi (Mami Wata)
Kayode Kasum (Afamefuna)
Tolu Ajayi (Over The Bridge)
Our Prediction: Adebayo Tijani And Tope Adebayo (Jagun Jagun: The Warrior)
For the well-choreographed scenes alone, Adebayo Tijani and Tope Adebayo deserve their accolades. The fight scenes didn’t feel unreal, the actors were perfect for their roles as they showcased every emotion to its fullest and the overall coordination of the film makes both directors front runners in this category.
Best Movie
Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti
Breath of Life
Over The Bridge
Blood Vessel
A Tribe Called Judah
The Black Book
MAMI WATA
Our Prediction: Breath of Life
Everything fits perfectly with Breath of Life. The incredible plot progression fostered by BB Sasore’s writing, the actors incredible performances notably Chimezie Imo, coupled with the outstanding cinematography and soundtrack that aided the story. Everything worked together to sell a faith based narrative that manages not to be cringe.
There were twists, turns, suspense and above all resolution. We saw the movie tackle themes of hope, self discovery, forgiveness and growth and it effectively delivers its message.
The post AMVCA Predictions: Here’s Our List Of Possible Winners appeared first on Nigerian Entertainment Today.
