The 12th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, headlined by Don Julio as the official sponsor of the night, came, served, and left us with enough to talk about for the rest of the week. From emotional wins to unforgettable performances and elevated Don Julio 1942 moments woven throughout the ceremony, here’s everything that went down.

The opening act set the tone immediately

Bnxn kicked off the night with a medley starting with his most recent hit, Come Back Outside (without Sarz, which meant no one was whining waist, and we felt that absence deeply) but more than followed it up with Fi Kan Wi Kan, which did enough to wake the room up.

Bovi and Nomzamo Mbatha held the night together

The hosting duo came out swinging. One of their first orders of business was shouting out IK Osakioduwa, who is not hosting the show for what feels like the first time since the dawn of time. Then they went straight for the jugular with a skit imagining what would happen if Toyin Abraham were to present an award that Funke Akindele was nominated for. The skit answered a question nobody asked out loud but everybody was thinking due to the incident between them that happened at The Return of Arinzo premiere earlier this year. They also confirmed that Funke and Toyin were seated on opposite sides of the hall, which is the kind of logistics that deserves its own award.

The Don Julio 1942 Toast: The Most Iconic Moment of the Night

Before the formalities took over, Don Julio, the headline sponsor of AMVCA 2026, made its presence felt in the most elevated way possible. The Don Julio 1942 Toast, led by comedian Bovi Ugboma, brought the night’s biggest names to a standstill, tequila in hand, in a moment that was equal parts cinematic and intimate.

The energy was warm, unscripted, and deeply human. Guests weren’t performing for cameras, they were genuinely toasting: to the nominees, to the night, to each other, and to the future of African storytelling and entertainment. Don Julio 1942 has always understood that the best kinds of celebrations happen when the right people are in the same room with the right drink in their hands. AMVCA 2026 proved exactly that.

Then the CEO of Multichoice spoke

Kemi Omotosho gave a speech and then the craft awards began, which is the part of the show where the people who actually make the films look good finally get their flowers.

Then came the craft awards

Daniel Etim Effiong and Eucharia Anunobi presented Best Makeup, Best Costume Design, and Best Art Direction. Tolu Ajayi and Morayo Afolabi Brown came out for Best Sound Design and Best Cinematography. Lateef Adedimeji, nominated himself, somehow kept it together long enough to present Best Writing in a TV Series and Best Writing in a Movie. Layi Wasabi and Uju Chukwu came through for Best Digital Content Creator.

Fave took the stage to perform a medley of some of her hit songs

The regional indigenous language film awards

Central Africa, North Africa, East Africa, South Africa, and West Africa all got their moment with the Best Indigenous Language Films in each category. Five awards. Five different films. Five rooms worth of people screaming somewhere on the continent. Pure magic.

Then more craft awards

Best Editing, Best Documentary, Best Short Film, and Best Score/Music were given out. My Father’s Shadow was having a very good evening at this point.

Bovi came back to address the elephant in the room

After 17 awards, Bovi returned to the stage to take a crack at Kunle Remi for his now-infamous quip about engraved awards not being handed out — to point out that evening’s awards were in fact engraved. Kunle Remi felt it from wherever he was sitting.

Then Bovi introduced Tiwa Savage and the Urban Loud choir

And gave a performance to die for.

The performance and acting awards

Best Indigenous M-Net Original, Best Unscripted M-Net Original, and then the Don Julio-sponsored categories: Best Supporting Actress, Best Actor, and Best Film of the Year were all given out, with the tequila brand putting its stamp on the night’s most celebrated performances.

Don Julio also played a visible role in some of the night’s biggest moments on stage. Ose Head, Head of Media & Content at Don Julio, joined actress Uche Montana to present the Best Supporting Actress award together.

And speaking of Uche Montana, the actress also earned a major fashion moment of her own after Don Julio named her their Fashion Icon of the Night. She stepped onto the red carpet in a custom phoenix-inspired look designed by Tubo Bereni and immediately had social media doing what social media does best.

Then came the In Memoriam section

There was no dry eye in the house as Purp, the winner of Nigerian Idol Season 10, performed a moving tribute to industry figures who passed away, including notable Nollywood stars such as Mr. Ibu, Amaechi Muonagor, Junior Pope, Pa Zulu Adigwe, and more.

Now the acting awards

Best Lead Actor and Best Supporting Actress, both proudly sponsored by Don Julio, went to Uzor Arukwe for Colours of Fire and Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman for The Herd respectively, while Best Supporting Actor went to Bucci Franklin for To Kill A Monkey.

Then history happened.

Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman also won Best Lead Actress for The Serpent’s Gift, making her the first actress to win both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in the same night.

The Don’s Table

Don Julio didn’t stop at simply sponsoring the categories. The brand also created “The Don’s Table”, a curated symbolic experience hosted by Uti Nwachukwu to honour individuals whose dedication to their craft earned them recognition throughout the night.

Throughout the evening, winners were welcomed to The Don’s Table for intimate conversations and celebratory moments. Uzor Arukwe joined the table following his Best Actor win, Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman stopped by after her historic double-win night, and Funmbi Ogunbawo and Wale Davis represented My Father’s Shadow after the film’s huge victories.

Each winner also received a specially engraved bottle of Don Julio 1942 as a commemorative token marking their achievement at the 12th AMVCA.

The special recognitions

Uche Montana won the Trailblazer Award, and both Kanayo O. Kanayo and Sola Sobowale took home the Industry Merit Award. Two legends. One in the making. Zero arguments from the room.

The awards we’d all been waiting for

Akinola Davies Jr. won Best Director for My Father’s Shadow. Inimba won Best Scripted Series. And My Father’s Shadow closed out the night by winning Best Film of the Year, presented by Don Julio, the headline sponsor who made sure the biggest award of the night landed with the prestige it deserved.

Funmbi Ogunbawo and Wale Davis received the award on behalf of the film, before later joining the celebrations at The Don’s Table. By the end of the night, My Father’s Shadow had become the biggest winner of the evening with five awards in total.

The show closed with a performance by Tiwa Savage, BNXN, and Fave

Buju, Fave, and Tiwa Savage closed out the night together. The people who stayed to the end were rewarded. The people who left early know what they did. And somewhere around the Don Julio 1942 bar, the final toasts of the night were still being raised.