AMAA 2026 Nominations: To Adaego With Love Leads Nigeria With 11 Nods as The Herd Gets 10

To Adaego With Love leads Nigeria at the 22nd Africa Movie Academy Awards with 11 nominations, one more than The Herd and two more than Colours of Fire, when nominees were announced on 17th October, as the full nominations list shows. Uganda's Slum Bomber and Kenya's One Woman, One Bra top the whole field with 14 each. The ceremony is set for 15th November at the Lagos Marriott Hotel.

Who Leads the AMAA 2026 Nominations

The list runs across 26 categories, and the three Nigerian films at the front are well placed in the biggest ones.

• Slum Bomber (Uganda) and One Woman, One Bra (Kenya): 14 nominations each, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Debut Feature.

• To Adaego With Love (Nigeria): 11, the most for any Nigerian film.

• The Herd (Nigeria): 10, level with South Africa's The Trek and Ben Made It and Côte d'Ivoire's Colours of Exile.

• Colours of Fire (Nigeria): 9.

Nigeria has two films in the Best Film category, To Adaego With Love and The Herd. They compete against The Trek, Ben Made It, The Fisherman from Ghana, Colours of Exile, Slum Bomber, One Woman, One Bra and Mabanda from Cameroon.

The films with the most nominations at the 22nd Africa Movie Academy Awards

The Nigerian Names in the Biggest Categories

Several first-time directors are in contention, which makes the Best Director and Best Debut Feature races worth watching.

• Daniel Etim-Effiong, for The Herd: Best Director, Best Debut Feature Film by a Director and Best Actor in a Leading Role.

• Nwamaka Chikezie, for To Adaego With Love: Best Director and Best Debut Feature.

• Chisom Agoawuike, for To Adaego With Love: Best Actress in a Leading Role.

• Uzor Arukwe and Osas Ighodaro, for Colours of Fire: Best Actor and Best Actress in a Leading Role.

• Toyin Abraham, for Oversabi Aunty, and Faithia Balogun, for Efunroye (The Unicorn): both in Best Actress in a Leading Role.

• Wale Ojo, for Light Out: Best Actor in a Leading Role.

• Chinazaekpere Chukwu, for Her Daughters' Mother: Best Debut Feature.

Smaller films appear too. The Best Young or Promising Actor field includes Gbubemi Ejeye for Idia and Onyinye Odokoro for Oblation, and The Spectacular Death of Prisca is nominated for Best Short Film.

What Happens Next

The AMAA chief executive, Raymond Anyiam-Osigwe, told nominees they had raised the bar for African cinema. Winners will be announced on 15th November 2026.

For Nigerian filmmakers, the awards arrive in a busy season. Three Nigerian projects also won funding and training prizes at Durban FilmMart earlier this month, and awards attention often helps a film find its next buyer or festival.

Frequently Asked Questions

When Is the AMAA 2026 Ceremony?

The 22nd Africa Movie Academy Awards ceremony is set for 15th November 2026 at the Lagos Marriott Hotel.

Which Film Has the Most AMAA 2026 Nominations?

Slum Bomber from Uganda and One Woman, One Bra from Kenya lead with 14 nominations each.

Which Nigerian Film Has the Most AMAA 2026 Nominations?

To Adaego With Love leads the Nigerian films with 11 nominations, followed by The Herd with 10 and Colours of Fire with 9.