The biggest winners are My Father’s Shadow, which won five awards, including Best Movie, and Nollywood actress Linda Ejiofor, who made history as the first to win both Best Lead Actress and Best Supporting Actress in the same year.
By Vivian Nneka Nwajiaku
In a surprising end to the 12th edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA), the biggest winners of the AMVCA 2026 are the British-Nigerian film, My Father’s Shadow, which won five awards, including Best Movie, and Nollywood actress Linda Ejiofor, who made history as the first to win both Best Lead Actress and Best Supporting Actress in the same year.
The award season began underwhelmingly, with troubling snubs and shocking nominations that included nine nods for the commercially successful but critically panned Gingerrr. Plus, it covered an eligibility year (2025) that many critics consider to have been a bad year—especially for Nollywood films, which typically form the majority of the AMVCA nominations and wins.
However, considering the quality of this year’s nominations, many of the jury’s choices are quite meritorious. Particularly notable is the near-sweep of My Father’s Shadow, the debut feature of British-Nigerian director Akinola Davies Jr., which won five of its seven nominations: Best Movie, Best Director, Best Writing (Movie), Best Sound Design, and Best Score/Music.
A recipient of the Cannes Film Festival Caméra d’Or Special Mention and a winner of the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Producer or Director at the 2026 British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA), the film’s participation at the AMVCAs may be considered by some to be an unfair competition. Yet, it remains a surprise win for an award show that has not always been known to bestow its highest honours on Nigeria’s most-travelled independent films.
The most interesting win of the night, however, was Ejiofor’s dominance in the female acting categories, receiving honours for her lead performance in The Serpent’s Gift and her supporting role in The Herd. Like Ejiofor, Nollywood actor Uzor Arukwe was also nominated in both male acting categories, eventually winning Best Lead Actor for Colours of Fire. And in what seems the least controversial win of the night, Nollywood’s Bucci Franklin won his first AMVCA in the Best Supporting Actor category for To Kill a Monkey, after previously losing acting category nominations in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Nigerian titles Colours of Fire and To Kill a Monkey also had impressive nights, scoring three awards each, although the former had four nominations while the latter had eight, including the coveted award for Best Series (Scripted), which it lost. Colours of Fire clinched Best Costume Design over To Kill a Monkey, winning Best Art Direction in addition. And To Kill a Monkey beat My Father’s Shadow to win Best Cinematography and Best Editing.
This likely highly-contested case between My Father’s Shadow and To Kill a Monkey, and between To Kill a Monkey and Colours of Fire in technical categories, extends beyond Cinematography, Editing, and Costume Design. To Kill a Monkey is also famous for its score and music, which, regardless of how it fares against My Father’s Shadow, make it a defendable win among TV series. Here, once again, is an instance where our previous calls for the separation of film and TV categories matter. In an ideal world, both titles could have earned both awards in their separate sections. But that’s a digression.
Ejiofor was not the only actress to be nominated in both acting categories at AMVCA12. Nollywood veteran Sola Sobowale shared that rare feat, and while she lost both to Ejiofor, she went home with the flagship Industry Merit Award, alongside another Nollywood veteran, Kanayo O. Kanayo (who was also nominated for Best Lead Actor). On the other hand, the AMVCA’s second flagship award, the Trailblazer Award, went to Uche Montana.
If the AMVCAs are criticised for anything this year, it will not be for the fact that Gingerrr left the show empty-handed. On this matter, the organisation has saved face. Since the film’s release on streaming platforms the day before the AMVCA awards night, it has been followed by a wave of criticism from the audience. For once in Nollywood, critics and the audience align.
But there were other notable losses as well. Ejiofor’s Best Supporting Actress win was the sole win out of nine nominations for The Herd, the successful directorial debut from Nollywood actor Daniel Etim Effiong. Funke Akindele’s record-breaking box office hit, Behind the Scenes, lost all five nominations, with its Best Supporting Actor contender, Uzor Arukwe, taking home Best Lead Actor for Colours of Fire instead.
3 Cold Dishes, Oversabi Aunty, Bet I Love You, Cordelia, Osamede, Red Circle, The Yard, and Suky are all titles with multiple nods and no wins. Kash Money, the Netflix series that practically swept Kenya’s 2026 Kalasha Awards only a week ago, also left the AMVCA12 season with no award, losing its only nomination in the Best Series category.
Remarkably, the few main categories dedicated to TV series were dominated by non-Nigerian titles this year. South African telenovela, Inimba won Best Series (Scripted); Ethiopia’s Out N’ About (Harar) took home Best Series (Unscripted); and Kenya’s MTV Shuga Mashariki, which only won the People’s Choice Award (TV Drama) at the Kalasha Awards, left the AMVCAs with the award for Best Writing (TV Series).
The 12th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards was held in Lagos, Nigeria, on Saturday, 9th May, 2026. Below is the full list of winners.
Best Movie
- Gingerrr (Ope Ajayi, Bisola Aiyeola, Bukunmi Adeaga-Ilori, Wumi Toriola, Bolaji Ogunmola, Onyeka Nnama)
- The Herd (Daniel Etim Effiong, Efe Ejukoriem, Ulogo Chukwudi, Kene Okwuosa, Craig Shurn, Ladun Awobokun)
- My Father’s Shadow (Funmbi Ogunbanwo, Rachel Dargavel) (WINNER)
- 3 Cold Dishes (Martial Dansou, Asurf Amuwa Oluseyi, Ly Oumar)
- The Serpent’s Gift (Winifred Mena-Ajakpovi)
- Behind the Scenes (Funke Ayotunde Akindele, Wendy Uwadiae Imaseun)
Best Director
- Akinola Davies Jr., My Father’s Shadow (WINNER)
- Tunde Kelani, Cordelia
- James Kalu Omokwe, Osamede
- Daniel Etim Effiong, The Herd
- Yemi Filmboy Morafa, Gingerrr
- Asurf Amuwa Oluseyi, 3 Cold Dishes
Best Series (Scripted)
- To Kill a Monkey (Kemi Adetiba)
- The Yard ( James Kalu Omokwe)
- The Chocolate Empire (Grace Kahaki, Phillipe Bresson)
- Inimba (Siphosethu Tshapu, Thandi Ramathesele, Yolanda Ndhlovu) (WINNER)
- Kash Money (Grace Khaki, Phillipe Benson)
Best Series (Unscripted)
- The Real Housewives of Lagos S3 (Deola Art Alade, Darey Art Alade)
- Nigerian Idol S10 (Suleiman Kassim, Anneke De Ridder)
- Ultimate Girls Trip: Africa (Graeme Swanepoel, Jemma Ford)
- Off-Air With Gbemi and Toolz (Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi, Toolz Oniru-Demuren)
- Out N’ About (Harar) (Bruk Yibrah) (WINNER)
Best Lead Actor
- Mike Ezuruonye, Oversabi Aunty
- Lateef Adedimeji, Lisabi: A Legend Is Born
- William Benson, To Kill a Monkey
- Kanayo O. Kanayo, Grandpa Must Obey
- Khumbuza Meyiwa, Bet I Love You
- Uzor Arukwe, Colours of Fire (WINNER)
- Wale Ojo, 3 Cold Dishes
- Femi Branch, Red Circle
Best Lead Actress
- Linda Ejiofor, The Serpent’s Gift (WINNER)
- Bimbo Akintola, To Kill a Monkey
- Ifeoma Fafunwa, The Lost Days
- Ariyike Owolagba, Something About the Briggs
- Sola Sobowale, Her Excellency
- Scarlet Gomez, Behind the Scenes
- Genoveva Umeh, The Herd
- Gloria Anozie-Young, Mother of the Brides
Best Supporting Actor
- Simileoluwa Hassan, The Yard
- Lateef Adedimeji, Gingerrr
- Gabriel Afolayan, Colours of Fire
- Bucci Franklin, To Kill a Monkey (WINNER)
- Femi Adebayo, Agesinkole (King of Thieves) 2
- Lateef Adedimeji, Red Circle
- Femi Branch, Owambe Thieves
- Uzor Arukwe, Behind the Scenes
Best Supporting Actress
- Linda Ejiofor, The Herd (WINNER)
- Olamide Kidbaby, Oversabi Aunty
- Bisola Aiyeola, Gingerrr
- Sola Sobowale, The Covenant
- Nadia Dutch, Aljana
- Amal Umar, The Herd
- Juliebrenda Nyambura, MTV Shuga Mashariki
- Funke Ayotunde Akindele, Behind the Scenes
Best Writing (Movie)
- The Herd (Lani Aisida)
- My Father’s Shadow (Wale Davies, Akinola Davies Jr.) (WINNER)
- Blackout (Ikenna Okpara)
- Cards On The Table (Shirleen Wangari)
- Gingerrr (Xavier Ighorodje)
- Suky (Isaac Ayodeji)
- 3 Cold Dishes (Tomi Adesina)
Best Writing (TV Series)
- The Wives (Donald Tombia, Timendu Aghahowa, Chiemeka Osuagwu)
- MTV Shuga Mashariki (Annette Shadeya, Natasha Likimani, Mkamzee Mwatela, Arnold Mwanjila, Makgano Mamabolo) (WINNER)
- Our Husband (Xavier Ighorodje)
- Addis Fikir (Besufekade Mulu)
- Baba Oh (Temilola Balogun, Mobola Rahman)
- The Party (Stephen Okonkwo)
- Gizat (Yednekachew Ayne)
Best Cinematography
- My Father’s Shadow (Jermaine Edwards)
- To Kill a Monkey (Kabelo Thathe) (WINNER)
- The Herd (Emmanuel Igbekele)
- Finding Nina (Daanong Gyang)
- The Serpent’s Gift (Emmanuel Igbekele)
- Stitches (KC Obiajulu)
- Gingerrr (Emmanuel Igbekele)
Best Editing
- Cordelia (Kazeem Agboola)
- My Father’s Shadow (Omar Guzman Castro)
- Landline (Nwanguma Peter Chidebere, Dele Doherty)
- 3 Cold Dishes (Asurf Amuwa Oluseyi)
- Osamede (Winston Aig-Ohioma)
- To Kill a Monkey (Daniel Anyiam) (WINNER)
Best Costume Design
- The Serpent’s Gift (Mary Chukuma)
- The Real Housewives of Lagos S2 (Deola Art Alade, Darey Art Alade)
- Colours of Fire (Valerie Okeke) (WINNER)
- Something About the Briggs (Yolanda Okereke)
- To Kill a Monkey (Ikechukwu Urum, John Joseph Angel)
Best Make-up
- Behind the Scenes (Mojisola Imam)
- Lisabi: A Legend Is Born (Hakeem Onilogbo (Hakeem Effect)) (WINNER)
- Gingerrr (Dablaq Artistry)
- Abanisete (Adeola Thelma Bamgboye)
- Warlord (Hakeem Onilogbo (Hakeem Effect))
- Suky (Ruth Harcourt)
- Labake Olododo (Adeola Thelma Bamgboye)
Best Score/Music
- My Father’s Shadow (Duval Timothy, CJ Mirra) (WINNER)
- 3 Cold Dishes (Nissi Ogulu)
- Osamede (Chubb Okobah)
- Gingerrr (Tolu Obanro)
- The Party (Tolu Obanro)
- MTV Shuga Mashariki (SoFresh)
- To Kill a Monkey (Oscar Herman-Ackah)
Best Sound Design
- My Father’s Shadow (Pius Fatoke, CJ Mirra) (WINNER)
- Gingerrr (Tolu Obanro)
- Ben Made It (Vaughan Phillips)
- The Party (Tolu Obanro, Simi Dada)
- Sebata (The Beast) (Vaughan Phillips)
- The Herd (Ayobami Adeniji, Fisayo Adefolaju)
Best Art Direction
- The Serpent’s Gift (Zainab Oladipupo)
- The Herd (Omolade Abisola)
- Colours of Fire (Ajamolaya Bunmi, Yakub Oladejo) (WINNER)
- Aljana (Olatunji Afolayan, Gideon O Stephen)
- Suky (Victor Akpan)
- Inimba (Thabiso Senne)
Best Indigenous Language (West Africa)
- The Serpent’s Gift (Winifred Mena-Ajakpovi)
- Lisabi: A Legend Is Born (Lateef Adedimeji, Adebimpe Oyebade Adedimeji) (WINNER)
- Labake Olododo (Alice Iyabo Ojo, Olukanmi Abayomi, Alaba Onaolapo, Kene Okwuosa, Ladun Awobokun)
- Aljana (Grace Yachat Yakubu)
- Olorisha (Abiola Adeshina)
Best Indigenous Language (East Africa)
- Inside Job (Kamau Wandug’u, Joe Mahinda, Barbara Njeri Maina)
- Sayari (Omar Hamza, June Wairegi)
- Addis Fikir (Leul Shoaferaw) (WINNER)
- My Son (Isarito Mwakalindile)
- Kimote (Hassan Mageye)
Best Indigenous Language (Southern Africa)
- Bet I Love You (Joseph Duke, Keamogetse Modise)
- Sebata – The Beast (African Entertainers)
- Ben Made It (Thabang Mathumetse, Thapelo Dikhutso)
- Terra of Queens and Kuma 2 (Neo Leonardo Mokoena)
- Tlhaho Ya Mosadi (Naledi Galane, Promise Ramoroka, Ernest Ramoroka, Modipadi Mokgohloa) (WINNER)
Best Indigenous Language (North Africa)
- The Omnipresent (Youssef Ben Khalifa)
- The Delivery (Abdalla Ezyan)
- The Hidden Voice (Houssem Eddine Abdelwahed)
- This Is Portsaid (Abdalla Ezyan)
- Artal Alhanin – Our Memories (Mohamed Awad, Mohamed Abdulraham Eldouma) (WINNER)
Best Indigenous Language (Central Africa)
- Mabanda (Kang Quintus) (WINNER)
- Safou – A Gift from Nature (Nyasha Makamba)
- Golden Spoon (Egbe Francis Ettabrown)\
Best Short Film
- Rise (Jessie J. Rowlands)
- Fleas (Jordy Sank)
- Telephone (Fimisinuola Adejonwo)
- Hussainin (Orire Nwani, Josh Olaoluwa) (WINNER)
- My Body, God’s Temple (Uzoamaka Power)
Best Documentary
- Beyond Olympic Glory (Shedrack Salami) (WINNER)
- The Good x The Bad of Afrobeat (Louis Ejiofor)
- The People Shall (Mark Maina, Nick Wambugu)
- Not Addressing This Anymore (Huzzain Bello)
- BOU (Mwaka Gerald Remmy)
Best Scripted M-Net Original
- Adam to Eve (Lizz Njagah, Alexandros Konstantaras)
- Mother of the Brides (Rogba Arimoro, Bio Arimoro)
- The Yard (James Kalu Omokwe)
- The Low Priest (Femi D. Ogunsanwo) (WINNER)
- Bobo (Maurice Muendo)
Best Unscripted M-Net Original
- Nigerian Idol S10 (Suleiman Kassim, Anneke De Ridder) (WINNER)
- Ultimate Girls Trip: Africa (Graeme Swanepoel, Jemma Ford)
- Chapa Chapa My Love (Ercilla Justino, Jojo Almeida, Gabriela Ueno)
- Out N About (Harar) (Bruk Yibrah)
- Undugu (Hatibu Madudu)
Best Indigenous M-Net Original
- Inimba (Siphosethu Tshapu , Thandi Ramathesele and Yolanda Ndhlovu) (WINNER)
- Kukoyi (David Akande)
- Undugu (Hatibu Madudu)
- Out N’About (Harar) (Bruk Yibrah)
- Kampala Creme S2 (Joel Ndugwa)
- The Chocolate Empire (Grace Kahaki, Phillippe Bresson)
- Mgbuka (Eze Izu)
Best Digital Content Creator
- Elozonam Ogbolu and Genoveva Umeh, Dr Judgina—Situationally Transmitted Delusion
- Destiny Ogie Osarewinda, The Marriage List
- Emmanuel Kanaga and Sophia Chisom, Leave to Live (WINNER)
- Benedict Ehimare Oriaifo, The Rat Race
- Maryam Apaokagi-Greene (Taaoma), Luxury Koko
- Steve Chuks, August Meeting Election
- Akwaman, Did I Just Hear Muah
Trailblazer Award – Uche Montana
Industry Merit Award – Sola Sobowale and Kanayo O. Kanayo