The Sunday Mail
THE fifth annual Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) have come and gone, and as has become the norm, there was nothing to talk about from a Southern African perspective.
The AMVCAs are an annual event to celebrate outstanding achievement in film and television in West Africa, sorry, across Africa.
At this year’s awards, the Nollywood and Hollywood collaborative historical drama “76” emerged as the night’s biggest winner.
Coming into the show with 14 nominations, “76” walked away with five awards, including Best Film, Best Director (Pet Nebo) and Best Actress (Rita Dominic).
There were more wins for Nigeria.
“93 days” also dominated and actors Rita Dominic, Meg Otanwa, Michael Ogunlade and host of other actors, actresses and films walked away with gongs. Southern Africa got a mention as South African productions “Happiness is a Four Letter Word” and “All About Love” were nominated; while cinematographer Lance Gewer and Zimbabwe’s own Arnold Chirisa were also in the running for awards.
Sadly, only “All About Love” made it to the winner’s podium with Best Movie Southern Africa, something I find to be sad and totally unfair.
Chirisa missed out on the Best Actor (Drama) to David Jones David for his work in “Hotel Majestic”, while “Happiness is a Four Letter Word” lost to “76” in the Best Movie Overall category.
I have no intention of pulling a Will Smith or #Oscarssowhite type of movement and cry and moan about bias and favouritism towards West Africa, in particular Nigeria. There is an argument to be made there, but that is a story for another day. The AMVCAs are nominated and awarded by the fans. MultiChoice and Africa Magic cannot be held responsible for voting outcomes. This is an award for the people, given by the people and handed over to the people.
So let’s turn to Zimbabwe’s own son – Chirisa. Next to Danai Gurira, Arnold Chirisa is arguably one of this country’s top acting exports in recent times. Yes, Gurira clearly has the better resume with her host of awards and work on “The Walking Dead” as well as her forthcoming role in the Marvel movie “The Black Panther”.
But in Chirisa you have the old classic tale of an ordinary boy rising from poverty to make it big in the world. By “poverty” here, I mean the Zimbabwean film industry.
We were first introduced to his talents in that poor excuse of soap opera where Chirisa played the gullible but lovable police officer Davies.
Since then, we have seen him rise from local cinema, to the African stage and then on to Hollywood. His resume includes feature films like “Mr Bones” and “Crusoe”, and roles in “American Horror Story”, “Mrs Mandela” and “NCIS: Los Angeles”.
My fondest Chirisa role is as the dim-witted sidekick to Leon Schuster in the 2001 South African comedy “Mr Bones 2”.
The film is one of my little sister’s favourite movies and I remember watching tears drop from her face – from laughter – as she watched it over and over again.
Yet we have also seen Chirisa’s star dwindle as each breakthrough comes with its own heartbreak.
His latest disappointment, at last weekend’s AMVCAs, must not have been that much of a shock, given the array of stars he was up against and Nigeria’s stranglehold over African film and television. However, it could not have done his psyche any good.
After a handful of feature films and over a dozen cameo appearances, I still believe that all Chirisa needs is that one big break and everything will sort itself out.
We don’t want him to be nothing more than a glorified “cameo star”.
Look at what wonders having a one-stable gig, as the expression goes, have done for Gurira. Once one of those characters viewers expected to die soon, Gurira has turned her katana-wielding Michonne character into one of the most beloved of the “The Walking Dead” TV series.
That role helped bring attention to her theatre work and now she can now be found rubbing shoulders with Hollywood’s elite. Gurira’s latest brush with the big time saw her throw a “Coming to America” theme party with “Black Panther” co-star and BFF Lupita Nyongo.
All these and many more, are still within Chirisa’s future and the first step will be to settle down to one stable gig.
