Nollywood actress cum filmmaker, Funke Akindele, lost the Best Supporting Actress award at the 12th edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) to her colleague, Linda Ejiofor, for her role in ‘The Herd’.
Naija News reports that, unlike many fans expected, Funke Akindele went home without a win despite her movie, ‘Behind the Scenes’, being nominated in four categories.
Funke Akindele’s movie, which grossed over ₦2 billion at the box office, was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Lead Actress, and Best Movie categories.
However, Ejiofor emerged as the winner in a category that featured some of the top movie stars, including Akindele, whose performance in ‘Behind The Scenes’ had generated strong online conversations ahead of the awards ceremony.
Other nominees in the category included Bisola Aiyeola for Gingerrr, Sola Sobowale for The Covenant, Nadia Dutch for Aljana, Amal Umar for The Herd, Juliebrenda Nyambura for MTV Shuga Mashariki, and Olamide Kidbaby for Oversabi Aunty.
Ejiofor’s winning performance came from ‘The Herd’, a satirical drama centred on insecurity and the social realities confronting Nigerians. In the film, she played the wife of a kidnapped man portrayed by Daniel Etim-Effiong.
Although ‘The Herd’ performed modestly in cinemas compared to ‘Behind The Scenes’, the movie gained wider streaming attention and secured multiple nominations at the awards.
Funke dominated several online prediction polls by blogs and movie influencers before the ceremony. However, the category was decided by the AMVCA jury headed by veteran actress Joke Silva.
In the Best Supporting Actor category, Bucci Franklin won for his role as ‘Oboz’ in ‘To Kill A Monkey’.
Other nominees included Lateef Adedimeji for Gingerrr and Red Circle, Gabriel Afolayan for Colours Of Fire, Femi Adebayo for King Of Thieves 2, Femi Branch for Owambe Thieves, Uzor Arukwe for Behind The Scenes, and Simileoluwa Hassan for The Yard.
