In a remarkable and unprecedented display, “From a Whisper”, a Kenyan film that explores the 1998 bombing of the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, won five top prizes at the 5th African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) that held over the weekend in Nigeria.
“From a Whisper” got the Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Picture, Best Original Soundtrack and AMAA Achievement in Editing awards, knocking off the Nigerian Nollywood flicks that typically dominate these categories. The movie directed by Wanuri Kahiu commemorates the 10th anniversary of August 7th terrorist bombing in Kenya in 1998, in which over 250 people died and more than 5,000 were injured.
“From a Whisper” shot in Kenya, is not all about the terrorist bombing. The movie draws on the power of fiction to tell a most realistic story of the bombing aftermath by capturing the lives of the victims and their families who had to pick-up the pieces of their lives shredded by the blast.
The 2009 AMAA was a colossal loss for the Nigerian movie industry. Nollywood is the largest in Africa and third largest in the world, according to industry experts. Even categories Nollywood had recorded great success in the past went to non Nigerian productions. The Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role went to “Gugu and Andile” (South Africa), Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role to “Seventh Heaven” (Egypt), and AMAA Achievement in Visual Effect awardsto “Battle of the Soul” (Uganda).
The few categories where Nollywood flicks made some marks were the AMAA Achievement in Costume and non-continental Best Film (”Arugba”); Best Cinematography award (”Cindy’s Note”); Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Funke Akindele in “Jenifa”); and Best Performance in a Supporting Role prize (Mercy Johnson in “Live to Remember”).
As expected, the poor outing of Nollywood movies at AMAA got some harsh remarks for Nigerian press.
The Punch writes that failure of Nollywood at the African movie awards confirmed the fears of pundits that the “Nigerian film industry had been hit by a depression”.
NEXT’s opening sentence of its report says it all: “quantity doesn’t translate to quality”. The bulk of Nollywood is characterized by its quick productions made using inexpensive props and equipments.
Present at the 2009 African Academy Movie Awards were the two American top selling actors and award winners, Forest Whitaker and Danny Glover.
