The Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) nomination gala takes place tonight at Bingu Conference Centre in Lilongwe after which there will be a concert to be headlined by Nigerian act P Square.

The nomination gala, to be attended by President Joyce Banda, is taking place in the country for the first time and AMAA organisers say they want to put Malawi in the spotlight in as far as movie-making is concerned.

The nomination gala, according to organiser Zilanie Nyundo, is expected to be spiced up by a performance from South African gospel musician Rebecca Malope and local hotshot Skeffa Chimoto.

After the gala tonight, P Square will perform at a concert at Lilongwe Golf Club where several local urban musicians will also perform.

The nomination gala, to be attended by several Nollywood film stars, will see films being nominated although it is not yet clear how many local film-makers submitted their movies.

Recently, film maker Shemu Joyah revealed that he had submitted his latest movie The Last Fishing Boat for which he is optimistic he would be nominated.

He said with the country hosting the event ahead of the finale in Nigeria in April, it will not be healthy if Malawi does get a nomination.

With the local film industry still in its infancy, only a few film makers have managed to submit movies to AMAA which rewards film makers in the continent.

In 2010 Joyah entered the competition with his debut movie Seasons of a Life where he got several nominations. However, only Seasons of a Life actress Tapiwa Gwaza managed to win the best actress accolade.

AMAA organisers said that this year they have received close to 600 entries up from over 300 last year where South Africa’s Otelo Burning triumphed.