History is about to be made as the first Movie Awards Ghana (MAG) to reward excellence in the country’s movie industry is set to take the African continent by storm.

For the first time in Ghana, an award ceremony is coming out to not only honour movie stars with plaques, but also something that is worth their status as stars.

GP Limited and Image Consortium, the organizers of the award ceremony, revealed that the award ceremony will give out two Zoyte SUV cars sponsored by Feiya Engineering Limited to the best Actor and the best actress of the year.

The award ceremony was launched yesterday at the plush Alisa Hotel in Accra amidst a lot of excitement.It attracted a number of stakeholders from across the entertainment industry. Among them were movie stars, musicians, producers, script writers and government officials including Deputy Minister of Information James Agyenim-Boateng, who was the guest of honour.

The main awards night, scheduled for December 25 this year, will see some Hollywood names coming down to witness the event. But that will be preceded by a Nominees’ Gala night on October 30. Entries for the awards are already open and the planning committee has also started work. The final selection of who wins what prize will depend on 30 percent public vote, 20 percent planning committee vote and 50 percent vote from screening and nomination committee which will consist of selected industry players.

Speaking in an interview with News One, Fred Nuamah, Chief Executive Producer of the award, hinted that the award will be unique in the country, stressing that his outfit is targeting on award that will rub shoulders with the Oscars in the US.“I am encouraging stakeholders to help us organize a nice and glamorous event. I also call on other sponsors to come on board to honour our heroes and heroines. I think it’s time we organize our own movie awards,” he added.

Mr. Agyenim-Boateng also hailed the awards and said government was ready to support the initiative, adding that an award ceremony in the movie industry was long overdue.“The Ministry of Information sends its congratulations to the organizers of the awards. We assure you that the Ministry is ready to provide an unflinching support to make the award a success,” he said.

He stated that the award would encourage competition in the movie industry to an extent that it would improve the quality of Ghanaian movies, relative to those from neighbouring African countries. Also present were top and veteran actors such as Augustine Abbey aka Idikoko, Fred Amugi, Bob Smith, Kwami Sefa Kayi, Nana Ama Macbrown, Majid Michel, John Dumeoa, Prince David Osei, Beverly Afaglo, Martha Ankomah and Vivian Achor among others.

The rest includ Shirley Frimpong Manso, Abdul Salam Mumuni, Socrates Sarfo, Gideon Aryequaye, Samini, Efua Houadjeto, CEO of Image Consortium and a number of other celebrities. Music icons like Nana Boroo, Kwabena. Kwabena and 4x4 spiced up the occasion with some performances of their hits to entertain guests.