The 2014 AMVCAs – AFRICA MAGIC VIEWERs CHOICE AWARDS may have come and gone and boy did we have a good time.
Isabella Akinseye shares her thoughts on the good, great and needs to be better on one of Africa’s biggest awards.
Check the full list here incase you missed it
The Good
It was a good event and well executed from start to finish. Vimbai really tried. It seems like she read her reviews from last year and watched herself. She was more relaxed and natural.
The stars wattage was also very high. Genevieve Nnaji, Ramsey Nouah, Majid Michel, Mercy Johnson, Kate Henshaw and I could go on and on. I would have loved to see Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and Richard Mofe Damijo.
(Yes, I’m old school like that), a minister, a commissioner (political animal) and a few others from the Diaspora.
Most of the winners were actually around for the event and the few who couldn’t make it sent a representative. This raises the credibility of the awards a bar high.
Although the food finished quite early, there was an endless supply of drinks thanks to lead sponsor – Amstel Malta and don’t worry, it wasn’t just their malt on offer.
The Great
The branding from décor to design, the AMVCAs felt like a truly international awards show. The performances from all the musicians; Kakadu The Musical, Flavour, Davido, Bez, Waje and Cobhams was exhilarating, energetic and entertaining. Kakadu too was great as an opener and finisher of the night.
The show started and finished according to schedule. This is an achievement, trust me, Nigerians will understand.
The prizes for some of the winners; 2 brand new Hyundai cars and an all expense paid trip to Dubai. Err, why am I not acting again?
IK Osakioduwa was and is just great; his humour, wit and charisma made you want to listen to his every word.
The needs to be better
Osas Ighodalo, great on Tinsel but unfortunately, the AMVCAs proved a bone too big to chew. Her performance/presenting were contrived and her American accent did not really help matters. She looked stunning though with her various outfits.
As if Ms Ighodalo was not bad enough, we had to sit through South African murdering African names as he intermittently and in full glare announced for presenters to get ready. Surely, a tidier arrangement could have been made, voiceovers (in a deep male voice) at the very worst.
The internet connectivity was as good as PHCN on a regular day; epileptic. This meant twitter influencers and bloggers had a hard time posting pictures and messages on social media. Eko Hotel, this is not good enough but next time, organisers should provide Wi-fi or internet modems for the gentlemen of the press.
The sound was generally good but at a very crucial time, we had no audio in the live footage showing Yul Edochie receiving a brand new Hyundai jeep on behalf of his father Pete – this year’s Industry Merit award winner.
The lack of wheelchair access. Totally unacceptable and didn’t help matters when Dr. Gilbert Chigbo was unable to get on stage to receive his award.
Okay, this is Naija, so I speak for all of us awoof-loving citizens, in the voice of The Prince, where is my goody bag? Seriously, with all the money spent, a souvenir or two from the organisers and sponsors coupled with marketing materials would not have been bad na?
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Reviewed by Isabella Akinseye @iakinseye
For more reviews on Nollywood, visit www.nollysilverscreen.com