African Oscars Queen Dies
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The founder of the African Movies Academy Awards (AMAA) the counterpoint to the American Academy Awards dies in a Nigerian hospital
The founder of the African Movies Academy Awards (AMAA) Ms Peace Anyiam-Osigwe a Member of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (MFR) died at the St. Nicholas Hospital in Lagos on Monday according to a family statement issued Tuesday.
The cause of death was not revealed in the press statement.
P-Square performing at the AMAA 2022
The trail blazing Nigerian filmmaker and entertainment executive who was called “the queen of Nollywood films” was described in the press statement as an epitome of creative transcendence, the Emmanuel Onyechere Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe clan described Peace as an outstanding personality, trailblazer, titan, pathfinder, go-getter, humanitarian, one-of-a-kind creative, and visionary leader in the film and television industry.
“Peace left indelible imprints on the sands of time. We as a family and clan will continue to do all that is necessary to ensure that her legacy lives on,” the statement read.
The statement added that the Africa Movie Academy Awards and the Africa Film Academy, along with their training programmes across Nigeria and the African continent will carry on seamlessly the institutions she set up and with the full support of the Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe Foundation and other institutions and government agencies she has worked with over the years.
The family added that they would announce the details of her lying in state and burial in her hometown soon.
The 53 year old Anyiam-Osigwe was from the notable Osigwe Anyiam-Osigwe family in Nkwerre, Imo State. She was the only girl in a family of eight children. She had a degree in Law and political science from Oxford Brookes University in the United Kingdom. She pioneered the screening of Nollywood films at international film festivals. “Nollywood” is an affectionate name for the Nigerian film industry dating back to the beginning of the century.
She directed the first music video of the Nigerian hip-hop duo sensation, P-Square. In 2005, Ms Anyiam-Osigwe founded the Africa Film Academy, which governs the AMAA film ceremony the African equivalent of the prestigious Academy Awards. At the 10th edition, she stepped down as CEO of AMAA. In 2015, she began the African initiative to commemorate Africans in the entertaiment industry
In 2012, she was bestowed a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic by President Goodluck Jonathan in a lavish ceremony in Abuja for her contribution to the entertainment industry.
Anyiam-Osigwe was also a TED fellow. In 2020, she emerged as the National President of The Association of Movie Producers (AMP).
Her last public appearance was in December 2022 at the unveiling of AMAA’s calendar for its 19th edition at the Radisson Hotel in GRA, Ikeja, Lagos calling for entries for the 2023 edition of the AMAAs.
From our Lagos correspondent
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