Entertainment
AMAA, Facebook Sign Partnership Agreement
The Africa Movie Acad
emy Awards (AMAA) has signed a partnership agreement with Facebook for the promotion of African and Nigerian talents.
Mrs Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, founder of AMAA,disclosed this during the AMAA 2015 Sponsors’ Gala Night held at the Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
She said the agreement would give an ‘unprecedented’ opportunity for the brands to engage with millions of African movie fans.
Anyiam-Osigwe said th e details of the agreement was contained in an e- mail from Facebook’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
According to her, part of the agreement reads : “A commercial and cultural partnership leveraging AMAA’s platform cum Africa’s film and entertainment and Facebook’s global platform.
“It is aimed at leveraging the digital reach of the most persuasive social network.
“Over the past decade, AMAA has helped cement Africa’s status on the global film scene.
“And as Facebook launches its first ever presence in Africa, it’s working with AMAA to drive digital impact in film and entertainment,’’ she said.
Anyiam-Osigwe further quoted the agreement as saying that: “with 1.4 billion active users; 120 million of whom are in Africa, the Facebook partnership offers the opportunity to further amplify African brands to the world’’.
She, therefore, said the partnership would offer African talents and film projects specific opportunities to engage the users through official vibrant pages on Facebook and instagram.
According to her, it will build a new opportunity to explore and discover Africa’s most accomplished visual artistes, musicians and other entertainment talents and experts.
Anyiam-Osigwe said that the organisers decided to stage a road show for AMAA 2015 in Los Angeles to expose it and African talents to the world.
“The world cannot get to meet African stars if those stars do not showcase their capacities to other countries,’’ she said.
On the limited attraction of African films to the Western world, Anyiam-Osigwe said it had affected returns on investment.
to support local efforts at making the film industry viable.
NAN reports that there are 28 categories in the AMAA 2015 with 125 nominees.
South African film, ‘iNumber Number’, and Ivorian film, ‘Run’, topped the nominations with 12 nominations each.
Mauritanian film, ‘Timbuktu’, followed with 11 nominations while Kunle Afolayan’s October 1 received the fourth high
Spotify yesterday revealed a significant surge in heartbreak song streams in Nigeria during the Valentine’s Day season, with a 626 percent increase between 2022 and 2024.
This was disclosed in a statement issued in Lagos, Nigeria by Spotify’s Head of Music, Sub-Saharan Africa Phiona Okumu.
Okumu said, “Spotify data reveals a surprising trend, a massive surge in heartbreak song streams.
“Nigerians are turning to their playlists to express their emotions, with a staggering 626 per cent overall growth in heartbreak streams from 2022 to 2024.
“This Valentine, the sound of love is accompanied by the sound of heartbreak, and the data shows it’s louder than ever before.”
She said on Valentine’s Day, most surprisingly, male listeners streamed heartbreak songs at a significantly higher rate than female listeners, with a 362 per cent increase compared to 169 per cent among women.
“This could suggest that men resonate with the feeling of heartbreak more and turn to music as a private outlet for processing emotions.
“Whatever the reason, one thing is clear, when love is in the air, so is heartbreak and Nigerian men are pressing play on their pain more than expected.
“While Valentine’s Day is often celebrated with grand gestures, heartbreak is a common theme on Valentine’s Day -more than what’s publicly shown,” she said.
Nigerians will join their counterparts across the world to mark the 2025 Valentine’s today.
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has joined MLS side San Diego FC’s ownership group as a club partner.
SDFC announced today that Tems joined the ownership group through her company, The Leading Vibe.
In the process, Tems became the first African woman to be involved in MLS ownership.
“We are delighted that Tems has joined San Diego FC as a club partner,” SDFC chairman Sir Mohamed Mansour said in a statement.
“Tems is a globally significant artist who will help us reach new audiences and spread the word about our unique project, which, of course, has its foundations in sub-Saharan Africa through the unique Right to Dream organisation.”
Reacting to her addition as the latest partner in SDFC’s ownership group, the singer said: “I am thrilled to join San Diego FC’s ownership group and to be part of a club that celebrates creativity, culture, and the power of community.
“Football has a unique way of bringing people together, and I am excited to help build something special in San Diego, a city that thrives on diversity and innovation.”
Fashion and beauty entrepreneur, Toyin Lawani, has claimed she is enduring back pain and that her spine is degenerating.
Lawani revealed this in a video posted on social media last Tuesday.
In the clip, she opened up about her experience with epidural anesthesia, an injection administered to pregnant women in the spine to reduce pain during childbirth.
The mother of three claimed that since receiving the injection, she has not felt like herself.
She accused doctors of not fully informing women about the long-term side effects of epidurals.
According to Lawani, she received the anesthetic injection during the birth of her last two children.
She said, “When you hear ‘epidural,’ run. Doctors tell you about the side effects but do not tell you about the long-term effects on your body. I have about three friends having the same issues that I am having.
“Like, I am just 42, how did I end up with spine issues? I have a degenerating spine. I have implants in my spine. I go paralyzed. I can’t stand for a long time. I can’t even breathe properly sometimes because it affected so many things in my body when I had the surgery.
“They will not tell you because you just want the pain to go away. I have had two epidurals. I had my first as natural birth. The last two were epidural. The last one I had epidural because I had to undergo a surgery and I had no choice.
“See, the pain does not stop. My back is killing me and my spine is degenerating.”