Funke Akindele Misses Out on Top Supporting Actress Honor at AMVCA 12, with Linda Ejiofor Taking the Prize

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Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Funke Akindele, lost the Best Supporting Actress award at the 12th edition of the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards to fellow actress Linda Ejiofor for her role in The Herd.

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Ejiofor emerged winner in a category that featured some of Nollywood’s biggest names, including Akindele, whose performance in Behind The Scenes had generated strong conversations online ahead of the awards ceremony.

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Other nominees in the category included Bisola Aiyeola for Gingerrr, Sola Sobowale for The Covenant, Nadia Dutch for Aljana, Amal Umar for The Herd, Juliebrenda Nyambura for MTV Shuga Mashariki, and Olamide Kidbaby for Oversabi Aunty.

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Akindele had dominated several online prediction polls by blogs and movie influencers before the ceremony. However, the category was decided by the AMVCA jury headed by veteran actress Joke Silva.

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Her film Behind The Scenes recorded over N2bn at the Nigerian box office and explored themes surrounding black tax and family responsibility, with Akindele playing the character Adetutu Fernandez.

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Ejiofor’s winning performance came from The Herd, a satirical drama centred on insecurity and the social realities confronting Nigerians. In the film, she played the wife of a kidnapped man portrayed by Daniel Etim-Effiong.

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Although The Herd performed modestly in cinemas compared to Behind The Scenes, the movie gained wider streaming attention and secured multiple nominations at the awards.

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In the Best Supporting Actor category, Bucci Franklin won for his role as Oboz in To Kill A Monkey.

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Other nominees included Lateef Adedimeji for Gingerrr and Red Circle, Gabriel Afolayan for Colours Of Fire, Femi Adebayo for King Of Thieves 2, Femi Branch for Owambe Thieves, Uzor Arukwe for Behind The Scenes, and Simileoluwa Hassan for The Yard.

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