Uzoamaka Onuoha on her win as Best Actress, AFRIFF 2024 [Pulse Interview]

There’s magic in witnessing a performance that leaves an unforgettable mark on your heart. This year, at the Africa International Film Festival (AFRIFF), Uzoamaka Onuoha stood out, delivering a performance so raw, so real, and so unforgettable that it earned her the Best Actress award.

Winning Best Actress at AFRIFF isn’t just about a trophy – it’s a celebration of hard work, dedication, and a deep love for storytelling. For Uzoamaka, this award is a reward for years of passion and perseverance. Her role in Agemo, where she played the lead character, Agatha, was a masterclass in emotional depth and authenticity.

In our conversation, she spoke candidly about her journey to this moment, and what this recognition means for her career moving forward.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

I mean, it felt great. For some reason, I just couldn’t stop cracking up. I was laughing. I did watch my film Agemo so I knew we had something in hand. We had done something good, something incredible. The nomination didn’t come as a surprise to me because this is good work. But the win was just like a great moment. At the end of the day as a creative, for me, it’s just me working. We are not really expecting a nod, we are just working and just doing our best. The recognition was really beautiful. It was like a pat on the back. I kept smiling and laughing.

My preparation was intertwined with constant interaction with my director because it was his vision. It was a story created by him and written by Esther. I needed to know where his head was. Normally when I get a script, I do a run-through and get an idea of what it is. Next, I discuss it with the director so I know if what I read is in alignment. We had enough meetings before the actual production. This is the best set I ever came on. It was collaborative, we bounced ideas off each other. Whatever I felt was tasking, I knew I wasn’t going to carry the burden alone. We had limited time to shoot and we were running on adrenaline to do this. What kept us going was the collaboration. The rewarding aspect was coming every day on set and knowing you had something in the bag.

It means so much to me. I am an artist who was nominated alongside incredible artists. I don’t know what it means yet for my career. I am hoping for something incredible and something great along my journey. Being nominated is a pat on the back. It’s saying, I see you, you did good work, and this is an exceptional film. I watched my film and I said, “Uzoamaka Onuoha well done.” The visibility too is great and we’re hoping for better opportunities. I came into this line of work wanting to tell stories and that is what has kept me going. If I get bigger and better opportunities and tell stories, I will do that. That is what I am hoping for.

I watch everyone and everything. Cate Blanchet, Hrithik Roshan, I love that he acts with his eyes. Halit Ergenç, Jeremy Irons. I believe there’s something to learn even if the actor might not be great, I don’t mind. I watch actors and works from as old as the 50’s. But these actors inspire me. In Nollywood, Femi Adebayo is my favourite at the moment. I loved him in King of Thieves and Jagun Jagun.

It’s such a growing industry. One of my hashtags is #africanstoryteller. That’s reflected in my art. I am African first of all and I believe we have lots of stories to tell. There’s so much to translate in our art and AFRIFF is such a great initiative when it comes to pushing the culture forward. It is one of the awards I regard and hold in high esteem. If they give you your flowers, you really deserve to sit. I feel like the future of African cinema is great. The films that screened in AFRIFF this year, my goodness; you know the future is safe–incredible filmmakers, it was absolutely beautiful. It’s because of initiatives like this. It inspires filmmakers to do things like this. They paid attention this time. I’m thankful to be part of the movement.

I’m an avid promoter of the crew members. In every set I have been to, the crew members have always been good. On the set of Agemo, we had crew members who wanted to do their work and do it well. Sometimes you can be on set and not know what they are doing but this set; everyone was on their toes. They loved the story. We had a director who was a leader. If you have your directing right and the right producer, things will show. The set worked so well becauses we had crew members who made collaboration easy.

I’m not handling the fame. Maybe I’m the one that is not seeing the fame. I’m just doing my work. In all honesty, that’s not what I’m in the game for. When the fame comes, we go know. For now, I don’t think it’s there. If it is, I don’t see it. I’m working on my craft and keeping my feet on the floor. The journey still goes on. There is a bouquet, I’ve been given one stem and as I go higher it’ll keep getting bigger until I get my flowers. When I see the fame, I’ll let you know.

There are so many roles and I am very imaginative with these roles. I just stay and act it out by myself. The hope is to get more good jobs, more channels and avenues to be translative in my art. For now, the goal and the objective is to do roles that challenge me. I watched Agemo, and there was a scene that ended and a tear just dropped from my eyes. The vision is to watch yourself and truly forget that this is you, to watch yourself and say this resonates with someone out there. There are lots of characters I want to play.

Focus on your art. Be all about your art. If you’re great at your art, the accolades will come. The flamboyance that comes with the job will be found but first things first is to develop your art. Whatever will come to you will come to you. If you’re not being a better actor than you were yesterday, then what’s the point? You never stop learning. I haven’t stopped learning. I still attend acting classes. If you keep looking over your shoulder, looking for who will clap for you or bother about what is happening in other people’s lives, you won’t grow. If someone is winning, be happy for them. Find out what they are doing right, and learn from them. Pray. Going on this journey, your mental health will hang on a balance but keep working at it. Keep building.