Veteran Nollywood actress and Head Judge of the 12th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA), Joke Silva, has addressed the controversy surrounding the 2026 nominations, acknowledging that award decisions are inherently subjective despite a rigorous judging process.
Speaking in an interview with Guardian Life, Silva explained that non-voting categories were evaluated by a panel of highly skilled professionals with deep expertise in film, performance, and technical execution. The final nominees emerged from a comprehensive grading system involving two sets of judges, with results determined by an aggregation of scores.
“Awards are subjective a lot of the times, and that is why we have a panel of judges,” she said. “Every film is graded… the prayer is always: may the best man win.”
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Silva admitted she was surprised that some high-quality projects failed to secure nominations, but emphasised that outcomes ultimately depend on the collective scores. Top contenders include Gingerrr and The Herd, each with nine nominations, followed by To Kill A Monkey with eight and My Father’s Shadow with seven.
Her comments come after notable backlash, including actress Lilian Afegbai’s public disappointment over missing a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role in To Kill A Monkey.
On what constitutes an award-worthy performance, Silva stressed transformation and authenticity: “It is how far you have become the character… the believability of the character.”
Despite the debates, Silva expressed pride in the exceptional quality and volume of entries, describing it as a reflection of Nollywood’s impressive growth and the rising standard of African storytelling.
This year’s AMVCA features 32 categories, including 18 jury-voted awards, 11 audience-voted categories, and three special honours. Organisers also introduced two new categories — Best Indigenous Language Film (North Africa) and Best Indigenous Language Film (Central Africa) to boost pan-African representation.
