Afictimes Magazine Repots On GIAMA 2013

L-R: Director Obed Joe, GIAMA CEO Bode Ojo, His Wife, CFI President Emmanuel Takusi, Actor Ramsey Noah,  Director Lancelot Imasuen and Director Chris Onyeka,  At GIAMA 2013.

Definitely, GIAMA was one of the best organized awards I have attended so far. From the red carpet walk, to the opening act and the James Bond like entry of the host, Ramsey Nouah, this show was fit with layers of entertainment and sophistication.

In its second year, GIAMA made a leap forward, echoing its style from the red carpet walk to the presence of many well-known Nollywood Africa celebrities. The staffs were easily identified by their well-displayed badges or outfits and the press were orderly. I can’t remember how many banners there were but the arrangement gave a feel of a genuine red carpet walk.

Inside, the opening act and the grand entry of the host also set up a mood for the night. The stage was proper decorated and the lights were consistent. There was rarely a dull moment at the GIAMA and the performers were indeed prepared for the show. Laughter filled the room as comedians made satire of some recent incidents including the government shutdown and those six-packs celebrities ripping off their shirts while performing on stage. And then we got a very entertaining laughter from the comparison of the Nollywood cinema to the Hollywood cinema.

The GIAMA then plunged into awards and gave out several categories including a Lifetime Achievement, and Honorable Directing Achievement Award. You could feel the passion in Desmond Elliot’s voice as he introduced the Honorable Directing Achievement Award to Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen.

The event really captured old Nollywood times and tried to incorporate the present. The Screen Icon Search Award, which was about finding the next big actor or actress in USA, made the GIAMA to deserve recognition as an award show. It also deserves an A- rating compared to other awards I have attended.

There was definitely a division of classes. If you were a celebrity, you were treated like one throughout the event. Even the hotels were different. The GIAMA organization seemed to know where they were going with the award thing.

To conclude, there are a few recommendations I must suggest. Time must be respected. Its obvious Africans have the tendency to ignore time. This mentality must change. Let the organizer disregard the wandering crowd and begin the event on times. Secondly this was an award to celebrate and recognize those who had gone the extra mile to create arts for our entertainment (More on awards in general is coming up on my next blog). I felt like at some point the event could have been a little bit more inclusive to the awarded movies than it did and focus more on displaying and celebrating these movies, as they represent the African Cinema in the USA.

What stood out to me the most from all the awards given were the two Honorable Achievement Awards, and the screen Icon Search Award. The rest was the all fun and entertainment that somehow overshadowed the movies that needed a bit more attention. I also think the presence of the Nollywood Africa celebrities should only act as the glamorous and inviting element to the show and not completely deflect attention from the primary contents of the award.

Compared to other awards shows I have attended GIAMA was heavily focused on Nollywood Africa. And that was my only concern. There need to be a balance between the cinema Africa and African cinema USA so that the African cinema USA can also begin to grow and be recognized.

We are all aware that the African cinema in the USA is still at its infant stage and most of the celebrated celebrities are from Nollywood Africa. However, it’s still the duty of the award organizations to remain open to the struggling industry here especially if the award is geared and hosted here. If GIAMA can succeed at this, we should all begin saving to attend the next GIAMA Award.

On a personal note however, I was impressed by the show. If the initial goal of the GIAMA team was achieved, by that I mean if it main focus was on Nollywood Africa then the show succeeded. And beside my recommendation about the award focusing a bit more on the African cinema in the USA, GIAMA is an award show with styles, sophistication and good overall organizing that I can recommend as worthy of your times, money and energy.

Source: Afictimes Magazine