Former Lagos State Commissioner of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Steve Ayorinde has been disclosed as the president of this year’s Jury for Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).
Ayorinde, who has been the Chairman of the Governing Council for AMAA for over a decade, and a pioneer member of the Academy, according to the organisers, will not only vote for his preferred movie nominations but also give verdicts on which of the nominated movies meritously deserved to win.
Announcing Ayorinde as the head of the jury, AMAA founder, Peace Anyiam-Osigwe said she couldn’t think of a more seasoned personality that can embrace what the film industry is going through at the moment than Ayorinde.
Aside from being the immediate past Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture in Lagos State, Ayorinde also served as the Commissioner for Information and Strategy during the administration of Akinwunmi Ambode, the former Governor of the state. He was also previously the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of the National Mirror newspaper, and before that, the Editor of The Punch newspaper in Nigeria.
Having made his mark in the media industry, the head of the AMAA jury became a household name as one of Nigeria’s best-renowned film and art critics, who has served on the Juries of some of the globally-recognised film festivals and awards, such as Toronto International Film Festival, Cannes Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival and Mumbai International Film Festival.
Meanwhile, while the AMAA will hold on Sunday, December 20, 2020, nominations for the awards in all the categories will be announced on Friday, November 20, 2020.