The second AfricaMagic Viewers Choice Awards will take place this weekend in Lagos, Nigeria. There is a lot of excitement on the continent as we celebrate the bright minds in film-making on a continental level.
After a successful inaugural launch it is expected that the second installment of these awards will be a breeze.
“Last year was a fun show and it was kind of hard at first but we all quickly found our feet and everything went well,” said IK Osakioduwa, who hosted the show last year.
The Big Brother Africa host will retain his hosting duties with the talented Vimbai Mutinhiri from AfricaMagic’s StarGist and actress Osas Ighodaro who starred next to Beyoncé in Cadillac Records.
“It is going to be a very beautiful night. If you look at last year’s success, where we had the film and music royalty all converge to honour the most talented film-makers, the entire event was memorable by any standards,” he said.
With the Academy Awards just past us, Osakioduwa could not hide the fact that this put pressure on him and his co-hosts to make the AMCVAs as memorable as the Oscars.
“I want to also take a selfie like Ellen (DeGeneres) did,” he said jokingly, referring to the selfie that DeGeneres took with Hollywood’s A-Listers, which apparently led to a brief Twitter crash.
Osakioduwa feels that although the event will primarily focus on film, there are other aspects to it that make it worth attending.
“The fashion is something that we always look forward to. Since this is a continental event, you get to see everyone’s roots through different fabrics that are show- cased on the night,” he said.
After having worked with Mutinhiri on the previous awards ceremony, Osakioduwa is looking forward to doing it again and promises a more polished experience this time.
“We are different people and we bring that through our per- sonalities, which makes it great for a varied viewership. That said, I love the way Vimbai does her bit, she really knows how to work the crowd and we feed well off each other.
“Osas is also a friend and that helps with our chemistry on the live stage. We plan to misbehave this year. We are not going to be afraid or excessively respectful. We are just going to have fun,” he said.
Although he would not divulge which acts will be performing on the night, Osakioduwa did let out that they are all known A-listers.
“I know they are in talks with great established groups but contractually I am not allowed to mention names at this stage,” he said.
Like they did last year, the show will be beamed live and Osakioduwa finds this a bit challenging but not daunting.
“I try not to think hectically about being live across Africa because that puts a lot of pressure on you. “So my plan is to play to the crowds or to the people at home and that way everyone is interested,” he said.
• AfricaMagic Viewers Choice Awards air live on Saturday at 8pm on AfricaMagic (DStv Channel 151).