AMVCA 2026 awards: Full winners list as MTV Shuga Mashariki claims top honour
By William Muthama, May 10, 2026African films competed for top honours at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) 2026 in a competition that saw standout productions, actors and filmmakers battle for recognition across film, television and digital storytelling categories at the ceremony held on Saturday, May 9, 2026, in Lagos, Nigeria.
The 12th edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards brought together leading names in African entertainment under the continued partnership between Canal+ and MultiChoice.
The ceremony opened with Valerie Okeke winning Best Costume Design for Colours of Fire, setting an early tone for a night marked by strong competition across categories.
Big winners
My Father’s Shadow emerged as the biggest winner, securing five awards, including Best Movie, Best Director for Akinola Davies Jr., Best Writing Movie for Wale Davies and Akinola Davies, Best Sound Design, and Best Score/Music.
The film dominated the major categories, becoming the standout production of the night.
Colours of Fire also delivered a strong performance, winning Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction for Ajamolaya Bunmi and Yakub Oladejo, and Best Lead Actor for Uzor Arukwe.
To Kill a Monkey picked up multiple technical awards, including Best Cinematography for Kabelo Thathe, Best Editing for Daniel Anyiam, and Best Supporting Actor for Bucci Franklin.
Acting spotlight
In the acting categories, Linda Ejiofor stood out with a double win, taking Best Lead Actress for The Serpent’s Gift and Best Supporting Actress for The Herd.
MTV Shuga Mashariki also featured among the night’s key winners, claiming Best Writing TV Series, with Kenya’s creative industry also reflected in the broader East African storytelling space, recognised at the awards.
Continental stories
Across the Indigenous Language Film categories, Lisabi won Best Indigenous Language (West Africa), Addis Fikir took East Africa, Tlhaho Ya Mosadi won Southern Africa, Artal Alhanin: Our Memories won North Africa, and Mabanda emerged the winner in Central Africa.
Television and digital
In television and digital categories, Inimba secured Best Scripted Series and Best Indigenous M-Net Original, while Nigerian Idol Season 10 won Best Unscripted M-Net Original.
Out N’ About took Best Unscripted Series, and Leave to Live by Sophia Chisom and Emmanuel Kanaga won Best Digital Content Creator.
Special recognitions
Other winners included Beyond Olympic Glory for Best Documentary and Hussaini for Best Short Film. The winners also received a Ksh 473K cash prize across categories in recognition of excellence.
The ceremony also featured performances from Fave, Tiwa Savage and BNXN, with Purp delivering a memorial tribute performance honouring members of the industry who passed away.
Veteran actors Sola Sobowale and Kanayo O. Kanayo received the Industry Merit Award, while Uche Montana was honoured with the Trailblazer Award.
.