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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 at the age of 21, making it no surprise when he began to rise in the world of film and entertainment.

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Education

Amata studied Theater Arts at Benue State University in Makurdi, Nigeria.

Global production and acclaim

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]

Summary of works

Debut film

Debuting his movie Alexa Affair at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival would establish him firmly in the minds of Nigerians, Africans, and the world as a renowned and respected Nigerian filmmaker who tells only stories that impact on people positively.

2006–11

Amata's film The Amazing Grace, which won the Best West African Film Award in the 2006 Screen Nations Awards UK, holds the honor of being the first Nigerian film to be screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. It is the only Nigerian film that has had a western release. It can be found in American stores and on websites such as Netflix.

Soon after, Jeta would be recognized for such movies as Inale and Mary Slessor.

2012-present

Amata's latest film 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.

Official appointments

The President of Haiti, Michel Joseph Martelly, made Jeta Amata a Goodwill Ambassador to Haiti.

Colleagues

Amata has worked with Academy Award winner Kim Basinger, Academy Award nominee Mickey Rourke, and music superstars Akon and Wyclef Jean.

Family

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. Together, Amaya and Teemsma welcome the birth of a son in 2019, named Kessiena Donald Amata, the middle name after Teemsma’s father.[4]

Filmography

This section needs to be updated. (December 2018)

Year	Title	Role
1996	Glamour Boys	Director
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
	Dangerous Desire (video)	Director, Writer, Producer
2004	Queen (video)	Director, Writer, Producer
	Queen 2 (video)	Director, Writer, Producer
	The Alexa Affair	Director, Writer, Producer
2005	Wheel of Change	Director, Writer, Producer
	Ultimate Crisis	Director, Writer, Producer
	Last Game	Director, Writer, Producer
2006	The Amazing Grace	Director, Writer, Producer
2007	Game of Life	Director, Writer, Producer
2008	Mary Slessor (TV series)	Director, Writer, Producer
2009	Queen Amina	Director, Writer, Producer
2010	Inale	Director, Writer, Producer
2012	Black November	Director, Writer, Producer
2013	Road to Redemption	Director, Writer, Producer
	The American King	Director, Writer, Producer

Awards and nominations

• Verona International African Film Festival, Best Film, Black November, 2011
• Verona International African Film Festival, Audience Award, Black November, 2011
• Monaco International Film Festival, Most Entertaining Film, Inale, 2011
• Copenhagen Nollywood Festival, Best Film, Black November, 2011
• American Black Film Festival (ABFF), Best Director (nominated), Black November, 2011
• American Black Film Festival (ABFF), Best Picture (nominated), Black November, 2011
• American Black Film Festival (ABFF), Best Screenplay, Black November, 2011
• Nigerian Entertainment Awards, Best Film, Inale, 2011
• African Academy Movie Awards AAMA, Best Nigerian Film (nominated), Inale, 2011
• NFVSB Awards Nigeria, Best Film, Inale, 2010
• Abuja International Film Festival, Audience Awards, Mary Slessor, 2009
• Abuja International Film Festival, Best Short, Mary Slessor, 2009
• SIMA AWARDS, Best Director, The Amazing Grace, 2008
• Screen Nations Awards, Best West African Film, The Amazing Grace, 2007
• Nigeria Movie Awards NMA, Best Director (nominated), The Amazing Grace, 2007
• Nigeria Movie Awards NMA, Best Picture (nominated), The Amazing Grace, 2007
• Nigeria Movie Awards NMA, Best Cinematography, The Amazing Grace, 2007
• African Academy Movie Awards AAMA, Best Director (nominated), The Amazing Grace, 2006
• African Academy Movie Awards AAMA, Best Cinematography, The Amazing Grace, 2006
• African Academy Movie Awards AAMA, Best Picture (nominated), The Amazing Grace, 2006
• African Academy Movie Awards AAMA, Best Screenplay (nominated), The Amazing Grace, 2006

See also

• List of Nigerian film producers
• Category:Films directed by Jeta Amata

References

External links

• Jeta Amata: Nollywood's Gift to Hollywood from TheGuardian.com
• African Voices: Jeta Amata-Filmmaker

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