Ace Nollywood stars, Stan Nze and Tana Adelana, have clinched the Outstanding Male Actor and the Outstanding Female Actress awards at the 21st  edition of the Abuja International Film Festival (AIFF).

They were announced winners at the awards ceremony of the festival on Thursday night at the Silver bird Galleria in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2024 AIFF held on Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 with the theme “Beyond Borders: Bridging Cultures Through Cinemas.”

Stan Nze won the Outstanding Male Actor for his stellar role in the award-winning short film ‘12 Hours’, while Tana Adelana clinched the Outstanding Female Actress for her   role in the film Tender Hedges.

Tana Adelana however shares the outstanding Female Actress position with Cameroonian actress, Lum Nora Neba for her role in the Oscar- nominated film Kismet.

Stan Nze led in the stellar cast of 12 Hours with his role as Kelvin, a successful Lagos-based photographer living a lie.

The 25-minute mystery thriller follows the story of Kelvin, a Lagos-based photographer, who wakes up to an inexplicable terror at midnight.

In a haunting quest for answers, Kelvin is forced to relive the last 12 hours of his life, grappling with the falsity of his perceptions.

As the truth unravels, he faces the dilemma of accepting his fate or fighting back.

12 Hours, a debut directorial film of Tobe Anosike,  also  clinched the prestigious Best Short Film Nollywood award at the  2024 Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival(TINFF).

Other categories of award and winners at the AIFF include Best Experimental, Tage IM Winter (Germany) and Best Animation Film, The Forest of Honest Bees. (France).

The outstanding Music Score was clinched by Kaka, a Nigerian film, Best Feature Screenplay, Kismet (Cameroon), Best Feature  Film:, Foreign, Four Quarters (Russia) and Best Feature Film, Indigenous-Kaka.

Others include Best Documentary (Feature), Dela-The Making of EL Anatsui (Nigeria), Best  Documentary(Short), Lucy- A Pioneer Destiny (Italy) and Outstanding in Film Directing, which was clinched by Evgenya Tirdatova  for  Four Quarters.

Four Quarters, a film entry from the Russian Federation, clinched the highly coveted Golden Jury Film Award.(NAN)