The glittering lights of the 2024 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards darkened for the highly anticipated Nollywod film, “A Tribe Called Judah” as it failed to secure a single award sparking a heated debate among movie enthusiasts on social media.
Held at the prestigious Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos, the awards night honoured the crème de la crème of African cinema. However, for actress and filmmaker Funke Akindele, the creator of “A Tribe Called Judah”, it was not all that sweet.
Lost categories
Despite securing nominations in various categories such as Best Makeup, Best Writing in a Movie, Best Lead Actress, Best Movie, and Best Supporting Actor, the film stumbled at each turn, losing out to formidable contenders.
Feyisayo Oyebisi’s remarkable makeup artistry was outshined by Campbell Precious’s stellar work on “Mami Wata”, while the writing prowess of Funke Akindele, Collins Okoh, and Akinlabi Ishola was trumped by Tunde Babalola’s poignant script for Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti.
For most African cinema lovers, there is no doubt that Fuke Akindele popularly known as Jenifa’s powerful portrayal was outshined by Kehinde Bankole’s magnetic performance in “Adire”, which earned her the coveted Best Lead Actress award.
Even the monumental achievement of grossing N1bn within 21 days of its release failed to sway the judges, as “A Tribe Called Judah” lost the Best Movie title to “Breath of Life”.
Furthermore, Timini Egbuson’s supporting role fell short against Demola Adedoyin’s outstanding performance in “Breath of Life”.
