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Jeta Amata is a Nigerian filmmaker, born on August 21, 1974, to popular Nigerian actor Zack Amata. He comes from a family of veteran filmmakers including Ifoghale Amata, Zack Amata and Fred Amata. [1] Growing up in the film industry, following his family's passion for film, Jeta produced and directed his first film Glamour Boyz at the age of 21, making it no surprise when he began to rise in the world of film and entertainment.
Amata studied Theater Arts at Benue State University in Makurdi, Nigeria.
His work first went global when he produced a documentary film for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in 2003, using his film Game of Life as footage for the documentary. He holds 53 nominations and 10 wins for film awards in Africa, Europe and the United States, and is considered one of the most successful filmmakers to come out of West Africa. [2]
Amata's short film The Alexa Affair premiered at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival.
Amata's film The Amazing Grace , which won the Best West African Film Award at the 2006 Screen Nations Awards UK, holds the honor of being the first Nigerian film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival.
Soon after, Jeta would be recognized for such movies as Inale and Mary Slessor.
Black November premiered at the United Nations during the General Assembly in 2012 and was also screened at the Kennedy Center as well as the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The film inspired the sponsoring of a bi-partisan resolution on the Niger Delta of Nigeria members of the 112th United States Congress, H.CON.RES.121.
Amata had screenings of his documentary Into the Delta, on the situation of the Niger Delta, shown in nine universities in the U.S. including NYU, George Washington University, UCLA and Cornell.
The President of Haiti, Michel Joseph Martelly, made Jeta Amata a Goodwill Ambassador to Haiti.
Amata worked with Academy Award winner Kim Basinger, Academy Award nominee Mickey Rourke, and music superstars Akon and Wyclef Jean on the 2012 film Black November .
In 2001 at an audition in Calabar he met Mbong Amata. [3] Two years later, when she was 18, they began dating. They married in 2008 and their daughter Veno was born later that year. In 2013 they separated and in 2014 they divorced.
Amata is currently in a partnership with Vanessa Teemsma, who has worked in production on his films, including Black November. Amata and Teemsma welcomed a son in 2019, named Kessiena Donald Amata, the middle name was after Teemsma's father. [4]
This section needs to be updated.(December 2018) |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Glamour Boys | Director, writer, producer | |
1997 | No More Food for the Gods | Director, writer, producer | |
2001 | Mutanda | Director, writer, producer | |
2002 | Black Mamba (video) | Director, writer, producer | |
Tears of a Woman | Director, writer, producer | ||
2003 | Unconditional Love | Director, writer, producer | |
Love Entangle (video) | Director, writer, producer | starring: Kate Henshaw, Segun Arinze | |
Dangerous Desire (video) | Director, writer, producer | ||
2004 | Queen (video) | Director, writer, producer | starring: Nkiru Sylvanus, Stella Damasus |
Queen 2 (video) | Director, writer, producer | ||
The Alexa Affair (short) | Director, writer, actor | ||
2005 | Wheel of Change | Director, writer, producer | starring: Mbong Amata, Stella Damasus |
Ultimate Crisis | Director, writer, producer | ||
Last Game | Director, writer, producer | starring: Dakore Akande, Rita Dominic, Ini Edo, Enyinna Nwigwe | |
2006 | The Amazing Grace | Director, writer, producer | starring: Mbong Amata, Joke Silva |
2007 | Game of Life | Director, writer, producer | |
2008 | Mary Slessor (TV series) | Director, writer, producer | starring: Mbong Amata, Enyinna Nwigwe |
2009 | Queen Amina | Director, writer, producer | |
2010 | Inale | Director, writer, producer | starring: Mbong Amata, Caroline Chikezie, Ini Edo |
2012 | Black November | Director, writer, producer | starring: Mbong Amata, Enyinna Nwigwe |
2013 | The American King | Director, writer, producer | |
2016 | Road to Redemption | Director, writer, producer | starring: Viva Bianca, Akon, Margaret Avery, Zack Amata |
The American Black Film Festival (ABFF), originally called the Acalpulco Black Film Festival, is an independent film festival that focuses primarily on black film and works by black members of the film industry. The festival is held annually in Miami, Florida and features films, documentaries, and web series with black writers, directors, and actors.
The Amazing Grace is a 2006 British Nigerian historical drama film written by Jeta Amata and Nick Moran, directed by Jeta Amata and produced by Jeta Amata & Alicia Arce. The film stars Joke Silva, Nick Moran, Scott Cleverdon, Mbong Odungide, Fred Amata and Zack Amata. The film received 11 nominations and won the award for Achievement in Cinematography at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2007.
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Black Gold is a 2011 drama film co-produced and directed by Jeta Amata. One local Niger Delta community's struggle against their own government and a multi-national oil corporation who has plundered their land and destroyed the environment. The film was reissued in 2012 with the title Black November, with 60% of the scenes reshot and additional scenes included to make the film "more current".
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Black November: Struggle for the Niger Delta is a 2012 Nigerian-American action drama film starring an ensemble cast that includes Hakeem Kae-Kazim, Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger, Fred Amata, Sarah Wayne Callies, Nse Ikpe Etim, OC Ukeje, Vivica Fox, Anne Heche, Persia White, Akon, Wyclef Jean and Mbong Amata. It is directed and co-produced by Jeta Amata, and narrates the story of a Niger Delta community's struggle against their government and a multi-national oil corporation to save their environment which is being destroyed by excessive oil drilling.
Inale is a 2010 Nigerian musical drama film produced by Keke Bongos and directed by Jeta Amata. The film which stars Caroline Chikezie and Hakeem Kae-Kazim in lead roles, is set in Otukpo and tells the tale of Inale and Ode, who are both in love with each other but their love is threatened by tradition as Ode must win a customary wrestling tournament before he can take Inale's hand in marriage.
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