The grand finale of the long awaited fourth edition of the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCAs) takes place Saturday night at Eko Conference Centre in Lagos, Nigeria.
This is a red carpet event which will bring together the who is who’s in the film industry.
This is a platform where the country’s actress and film maker Joyce Mhango Chavula is seeking to make history for Malawi – she is aiming to bag an award having received a nomination.
The actress received a nomination in one of the newly introduced categories – Best Movie for Southern Africa for her film titled Lilongwe.
The movie was premiered during last year’s film festival spearheaded by Film Association of Malawi (Fama) with other stakeholders in Lilongwe in October.
However, Mhango Chavula faces competition from two South Africa movies –Ayanda by Sara Bletcher and Tell Me Something by Akin Omotosho.
The two South Africa movies apart from being nominated in this category, have also received nominations in other categories.
The actress also received a nomination in the Africa Movie Academy Awards (Amaa) for Best Feature Film by Director for her movie No More Tears in 2014 but she failed to make it.
“I believe I am walking the right path, the transition from theatre is proving worthwhile and I am happy to receive a nomination and I hope to win,” she said.
Mhango Chavula, who has also starred in other movies including Shemu Joyah’s The Last Fishing Boat, said she submitted the movie just to give it a try.
“Last year I noticed that some of my friends submitted their movies which did well and I thought I should do it this year. It’s quite humbling and it shows that something is happening in our film industry and there is something to fight for,” she said.
The actress was expected to leave yesterday for the event alongside lead actress in the movie Brenda Mselu.
“I am looking forward to the grand finale and I pray that I make it. I am excited and attending the event will also give me an opportunity to network with other film makers,” said the Lilongwe-based actress on Wednesday.
The nominees for the AMVCAs were announced late last year and public voting which was opened soon after the announcement closed on February 26.
Since the announcement, the actress, who is also vice president of Fama and National Theatre Association of Malawi (Ntam), has been calling upon people to vote for her to stand a chance of winning.
Meanwhile MultiChoice Malawi Sales and Marketing Manager Chimwemwe Nyirenda has wished the actress all the best during the grand finale.
Lilongwe is a film which was also selected for screening in the competition category at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival in October last year.
This is a story of a 13-year old girl who later grows into a beautiful young woman but still haunted by her past.
According to Mhango Chavula, the film talks about a very strong woman who had three children from three different men.
“Society says she is a prostitute but she believes she is doing her best to survive. Throughout the story, Lilongwe is saying, don’t judge me, you don’t know my story,” explained Chavula recently.
The film features Mselu as the lead actress and Joab Chakhaza as the lead actor and Mhango Chavula also features in the movie.
“The film was shot in rural and urban Lilongwe. The title was an inspiration from Onyeka Nwelue, a Nigerian writer who once visited Lilongwe and fell in love with the city and he wanted to do a film but later could not,” said the actress.
The awards are spearheaded by Africa Magic in association with MultiChoice and the headline sponsor Amstel Malta.
The hosts for this year’s event are IK, who is hosting the event for the fourth time and South Africa’s Minenhle ‘Minnie’ Dlamini.
The AMVCAs will be broadcast live on all Africa Magic channels on DStv and GOtv
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