With 13 nominations to its name, the film is followed closely by another South African entrant, How to Steal 2 Million with 11 nominations. Otelo Burning goes on circuit on 11 May 2012.
Set in apartheid South Africa - 1988 to be precise - Otelo tells the story of three young black boys from Lamontville Township in Durban who venture to escape harsh township living fuelled by a backdrop of political violence, to experience the joy of surfing.
The film is in isiZulu with English subtitles. It has already won two awards: the Golden Owl for Best Movie by the audience at the CineramaBC International Film Festival held in Brazil and Best South African Feature Film award at the fifth Cape Winelands Film Festival.
"The cast is mostly made up of young up-and-coming actors, some of whom have come through our workshop process and who are integrally involved in the real world of the story," said director Sara Blecher.
"It's particularly exciting to win an audience award in a country like Brazil, which has so many similarities to ours."
The lead role of 16-year-old Otelo is played by Jafta Mamabolo, who is currently one of the main actors in one of South Africa's popular soap operas Generations and has been acting for several years.
Sihle Xaba, a South African champion body boarder and surfer who was the lead actor in the Safta-winning drama series Bay of Plenty stars as Mandla Modise.
He is also an eThekwini Municipality lifeguard, which makes Otelo Burning - to an extent - a reflection of Xaba's own real-life experiences.
The film also stars Thomas Gumede of reality show Forever Young fame as New Year and Kenneth Nkosi, a staple in the South African movie arena with hit movies like White Wedding, Jerusalema and Tsotsi, as Oscar Buthelezi.
The youngest member of the cast - Tshepang Mohlomi - portrayed the street urchin Chili-Bite in Izulu Lami/My Secret Sky, a role for which he was awarded the best supporting actor prize at the 2010 Saftas, and the award for best child actor at the 2011 AMAA.
The story goes - Mandla's mother introduces the boys to surfing, as she works for a white family.
The youngsters find solace in the water sport as their township is gripped with violence from the Inkatha Freedom Party hostel dwellers' war with the United Democratic Front for political advantage of that area as the end of apartheid was nearing.
As Otelo starts to excel in the sport and gains recognition because of his talent, Mandla starts being jealous of his fame. As if that's not enough, Dezi, New Year's younger sister, falls in love with Otelo, much to the annoyance of Mandla, who has had his eye on her.
Mandla's resentment towards Otelo leads him to betray his friend by revealing his younger brother, Ntwe, as a spy for the apartheid security police in exchange for money for a new surfboard.
When Otelo finds out he has to make a choice between the money, glamour, girls and superstardom of international surfing and justice for Ntwe. He makes the choice when Nelson Mandela steps out of prison for the first time after 27-years in jail.
The AMAA ceremony takes place on 22 April 2012 in Lagos, Nigeria and is sponsored by leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria.
Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, CEO of the AMAAs, said: "Our partnership with Airtel is a brand alignment that actually works for us. AMAA is an African Award that seeks to celebrate the achievements of Africans in the film industry. We must celebrate our own.
"The best thing that can happen to the players in the industry is to be recognised. Airtel connects Africa with her wide spread presence just like we do, and this is a key passion point for Africans."
The AMAAs are a platform that projects the African film industry to Africa and the rest of the world. They are also a celebration of artistry honouring excellence in African filmmaking and cinema.
The movie also has a mixtape/soundtrack that has been available for free download since the beginning of April.
Produced by Tumi Molekane of Tumi and the Volume fame, the mixtape has songs from artists such as Zaki Ibrahim, Reason, The Fridge and Samthing Soweto, as well as Molekane himself.
Molekane said: "It's a mixed, non-linear audio narrative of the ideas that live in the movie. Dialogue from the movie is weaved throughout the soundtrack into one continuous musical flow.
"It works brilliantly for a soundtrack of this nature because it's a super cool compilation of songs that also does the job of translating a skilfully woven story into something that we can consume as listeners."
The mixtape can be downloaded from the movie's website.
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