“Lisabi,” “3 Cold Dishes,” “Red Circle” Dominate AMAA 2025 Nominations

The Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) unveiled its 2025 nominations on October 11 in Lagos, spotlighting exceptional talent from across the continent in 26 competitive categories.

Burkina Faso’s Katanga: Dance of the Scorpions leads with multiple nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, and several technical categories. Following closely, Nigeria’s Lisabi: The Uprising secured nods for Best Film, Best Actor, Best Makeup, Best Visual Effects, and Best Director — underscoring Nollywood’s strong showing this year.

Other major nominees include 3 Cold Dishes, Red Circle, Freedom Way, and The Masked King, which all scored multiple nominations. South Africa’s The Heart is a Muscle and Uganda’s Small Gods also emerged as strong contenders, particularly in acting and directing categories.

The Best Film category reflects the continent’s diversity, featuring finalists such as 3 Cold Dishes (Nigeria), For Love, For Land, For Power (Ethiopia), Algiers (Algeria), Last Stop (Ghana), and the frontrunners Katanga: Dance of the Scorpions and Lisabi: The Uprising.

In acting categories, Lisabi star Lateef Adedimeji received his first AMAA nomination for Best Actor, alongside Mahamadi Nana (Katanga: Dance of the Scorpions), Keenan Arrison (The Heart is a Muscle), and Adjetey Anang (Last Stop). Best Actress nominees include Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Osas Ighodaro, Shaffy Bello, and Tsigereda Bekele, among others.

Emerging performers Ruby Akubueze, Tiwalola Adebola-Walter, and Kisi Ogborueche were recognized in the Best Young/Promising Actor category.

In the directing category, Niyi Akinmolayan (Lisabi: The Uprising) competes against Imran Hamdulay (The Heart is a Muscle), Asurf Oluseyi (3 Cold Dishes), and Dany Kouyate (Katanga: Dance of the Scorpions).

Technical categories such as cinematography, production design, and editing saw nominations for 3 Cold Dishes, Old Righteous Blues, Small Gods, and For Love, For Land, For Power.

Diaspora filmmakers are also recognized across short, documentary, and narrative categories, featuring entries from the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Jamaica.

For Nigeria, the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) Award for Best Nigerian Film highlights Lisabi: The Uprising, 3 Cold Dishes, Red Circle, Amanayanbo, Freedom Way, The Serpent Gift, and The Masked King.

The 21st AMAA ceremony is set to take place later this year, continuing its long-standing tradition of celebrating African storytelling, creativity, and industry excellence.