Last Saturday, the first ever Africa Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards were held in Lagos, Nigeria. The award ceremony, hosted by Ike Osakioduwa of Big Brother and former contestant Vimbai Mutinhiri, was telecast live to millions of viewers across Africa.The awards were handed out fast and furious with Tanzania coming away with the award for Best Local Language Movie (Swahili) for ‘The Ray of Hope’, a film that was produced by Sameer and Sanjini Srivastava of Pili Pili Entertainment. Uganda’s Matthew Nabwiso walked away with the Best Supporting Actor award for his role in ‘A Good Catholic Girl’, while Kenya’s Maureen Koech won the Best Supporting Actress award for her role in TV series, ‘Lies that Bind’.Other East Africans, who received top mention, were Kenyan Ngendo Mukii, who received the Best Short Film award for ‘Yellow Fever’, and her compatriots Geoffrey Mwampembwa and Marie Lora-Mungai, who received the Best Television Series award for ‘The XYZ Show’. All told, it was a good night for the region, keeping in mind that most of the other awards went to Nigerians.There were lots of great entertainment on offer starting with a stellar performance from the legendary Fela Kuti, who pounded out the lyrics to ‘Bang Bang Bang’ with the support of a live band and three energetic dancers. Kenya’s Sauti Sol also took to the stage to perform a set that included their latest single ‘Money Lover’.  At the end of the night, Sara Blecher took home the ultimate prize for her film ‘Otelo Burning’, which won the Best Movie (Overall) award. The film was also recognised for best lighting and art direction.Agencies