The Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) has announced its return for the 11th edition, scheduled to hold on 10th May, 2025.

Nominations for the prestigious awards will be announced on 23rd March.

Organisers revealed that this year’s edition will feature a new category, Best Music Score, which aims to recognise the importance of music in filmmaking.

This addition brings the total number of award categories to 28.

Speaking at a news briefing in Lagos, Executive Head of Content and Channels for West Africa at MultiChoice, Busola Tejumola, emphasised the AMVCA’s commitment to celebrating African storytelling and talent.

Dr Tejumola spoke about the AMVCA’s consistency for over 10 years, the start of a new era as it enters its eleventh year. She also touched on the award’s pan-Africanist view, and its push to have a global outlook.

During her speech, the Multichoice Executive Head of Content and Channels spoke about three important highlights for this year’s award and how they would affect the show’s set-up.

According to Dr Busola Tejumola during the press conference, the show would have 28 categories, which would be divided into two parts. The non-voting categories would be subdivided into 18 groups.

Meanwhile, the voting categories would consist of 10 groups.

The Multichoice boss also revealed the date, time and platforms where for the 2025 nominee announcement. She stated that the nominee announcement would be aired across all Africa Magic outlets and platforms on the 23rd March 2025.

She revealed that names and categories would go live at 7 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, 202,5 and the voting lines would open immediately after the announcement.

An enhanced jury system has been put in place to help improve perception while considering inclusivity. Dr Tejumola noted that this year’s ceremony intends to follow a refined approach to ensure a fair balance between expert critique and audience appreciation.

A special message from the AMVCA’s head judge, Femi Odugbemi was aired and during his speech, he emphasized the awards’ continued commitment to excellence as the African film industry evolves.

“As an industry, we are constantly growing, the expectations of filmmakers, audiences, and stakeholders continue to rise, and the AMVCA is committed to evolving with them. This year, we are responding to valuable industry insights and reinforcing our dedication to improvement.”

Odugbemi also announced during his speech that a new category had been added to this year’s ceremony tagged the “Best Music Score”.

He noted that this category is to reward the movie with the best music and sound design in storytelling.

The main event will take place in May 2025. A schedule of different events will happen from 7th May and the grand finale will be held on Saturday, 10th May, 2025.

As the AMVCA approaches its 11th edition in May 2025, anticipation is high. While submissions are now closed, attention shifts to the nominee announcements and the upcoming ceremony, which remains a major cultural event, spotlighting Africa’s growing influence in global entertainment.