By Jonas Nyasulu:
Actor and filmmaker Kelvin Maxwell Ngoma failed to come top in this year’s African Monologue Challenge (AMC) season 2 during the grand finale held on Tuesday in Uganda.
The renowned actor, who starred in Chiwetel Ejiofor’s The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, came fourth in the competition.
Instead, it is Maud Guerard from Cote D’Ivoire who emerged the winner, with Chimwemwe Chipidza from Zimbabwe coming second.
Ahead of the grand finale, Ngoma had called for votes from Malawians to do well in the competition.
However, despite coming fourth, the Lilongwe-based actor got the Best Creative Monologue award whereas Jang Afanyuh Gehnjang from Cameroon got the Best Performer award.
“It is such an honour to represent Malawi at this competition. I missed out on the top award but grabbing the Best Creative Monologue is a relief,” he said.
Through online voting, which constituted 30 percent of the total votes, Ngoma came fourth after amassing 15,852 votes.
Judges, who held 70 percent of the votes, also pegged him on the same position after looking at his monologue’s performance, time and acting prowess.
“I would like to thank Malawians for their support. Let me also commend Wendy Harawa for covering my travel expenses,” he said.
Ngoma is expected back in Malawi on September 5.
“We are currently working on a film with all the contestants that made it to the top 10,” he said.
Launched last year, AMC is an initiative that celebrates African creativity, amplifies diverse voices and fosters unity across the continent and its diaspora.
The competition is initiated by MK Casting, which is Ghana’s premier Casting Agency, in partnership with the African Chamber of Content Producers.
