The Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) is calling for feature, short and documentary entries for its 2012 edition, to be held in April in Nigeria, home to the world’s third largest film industry. The deadline for submissions is 30 December 2011.

Since its inception in 2005, AMAA has established itself as the most prestigious and glamorous awards celebrating filmmaking on the continent. The gala event, which is televised live around the world, attracts Hollywood celebrities alongside their African counterparts, as well as African politicians and media.

“Our theme this year is Africa Rising,” says founder Peace Anyiam-Osigwe. “With the success of last year’s AMAA winner, Viva Riva!, all of a sudden there’s this great awareness of the possibilities in Africa. It challenged the ideology of what African cinema is all about.”

After winning six awards at AMAA 2011, Djo Tundawa Munga’s gritty Congolese crime drama was released in America, Canada, Europe, Australasia, and an unprecedented 18 African countries to rave reviews, demonstrating the untapped audience potential of the roughly one billion Africans on the continent.

“This has been an exciting year for African cinema,” says Peace. “We’ve also seen the UK release of six Nollywood films, with Lonzo Nzekwe’s Anchor Baby and Obi Emelonye’s Mirror Boy having extended runs at The Odeon Cinema in England.”

Only films produced and released between December 2010 and December 2011 are eligible. Features may not exceed 120 minutes and shorts may not be longer than 40 minutes. Submission forms can be downloaded from the AMAA website, http://www.ama-awards.com/

Nominations will be announced in February 2012.