Eminent Video Music Awards
Eminent Video Music Awards
"Because every great song deserves an equally great story."
Celebrating the Unsung Heroes of Music Video Production Since 2016
The Eminent Video Music Awards (EVMA) serve as a vital platform conceptualized to honor and recognize the often-overlooked creatives behind high-quality music videos. Our primary objective is to celebrate these unsung heroes — directors, producers, choreographers, and technical specialists — who contribute significantly to the music industry. We aim to foster a supportive community for content creators, enhancing their visibility and providing valuable industry connections that elevate their craft and careers.
"Dumisani Sir Khanyile founded EVMA in 2016 with one conviction — the visionaries behind the camera deserve a stage of their own."
To champion and celebrate the creative excellence of music video professionals by providing a prestigious, inclusive, and industry-recognized platform that shines a spotlight on every contributor — ensuring they are seen, valued, and rewarded for their extraordinary work.
To be the foremost global authority in music video recognition — a benchmark of excellence that inspires a new generation of creative professionals to push the boundaries of visual storytelling, where the art of the music video is treated with the same reverence as any cinematic discipline.
Seven pillars that define our purpose, drive our decisions, and shape the impact we create across the music video industry and beyond.
Elevate Industry Recognition
Establish the EVMA as the definitive standard of achievement in music video production, with award categories that reflect the full breadth of creative and technical disciplines involved.
Build a Creative Community
Cultivate a vibrant, collaborative network of music video professionals — from emerging talent to seasoned veterans — where knowledge sharing, mentorship, and creative partnerships flourish.
Amplify Visibility
Use our platform, events, and media presence to amplify the profiles of deserving creatives, connecting them with industry stakeholders, brands, labels, and life-changing opportunities.
Champion Inclusivity
Ensure that EVMA reflects the full diversity of the music and creative industries — celebrating talent across genres, cultures, regions, and career stages without bias or barrier.
Raise Production Standards
Inspire and challenge music video creators to consistently deliver work of the highest quality by setting a clear benchmark of excellence through our award criteria and judging panels.
Support Emerging Talent
Actively identify, nurture, and invest in the next generation of music video creatives through dedicated award categories, development programs, and access to professional networks.
Foster Industry Dialogue
Create meaningful conversations around the craft, business, and culture of music video production through forums, panels, and events that keep the community informed and connected.
A landmark celebration of outstanding creative talent. The 2025 EVMA honored an extraordinary class of directors, producers, choreographers, and technical specialists who redefined the art of the music video.
The 2024 EVMA Awards marked another defining chapter — a night of glamour, recognition, and well-deserved applause for the creative minds shaping the music video landscape.
The EVMA stage has hosted some of the most electrifying live performances in the industry — a fusion of music, movement, and visual artistry that brings the spirit of the awards to life.
The EVMA CSI Project is our commitment to giving back — investing in communities, empowering youth, and using the power of creative arts to drive meaningful social change. Through targeted initiatives, we uplift those who need it most while nurturing the next generation of creative talent.
Our Dance Auditions programme opens the door for emerging talent to step into the spotlight. Rooted in our CSI mission, these auditions identify gifted young performers and provide them with mentorship, exposure, and a pathway into the professional creative industry.
The Witbank Campaign represents EVMA's regional outreach — bringing the awards experience, industry workshops, and creative development programmes directly to the Witbank community. A testament to our belief that talent exists everywhere and deserves to be found.
The EVMA would not be possible without the generous support of our partners and sponsors — forward-thinking brands and organizations who share our belief in the power of creative excellence.
Interested in partnering with EVMA?
Become a Partner
Dumisani Khanyile is a visionary creative entrepreneur who built the Eminent Video Music Awards from the ground up. Born from a deep frustration with the industry's tendency to spotlight only the artist on screen while the brilliant minds behind the camera remained invisible, Dumisani recognized that a music video is not merely a promotional tool — it is a work of art, a cultural statement, and a collaborative masterpiece. Since 2016, he has championed a movement that ensures every grip, every editor, every choreographer, and every director receives the recognition they have always deserved.
"The camera crew, the editor, the director — they are the real architects of a music video. EVMA exists to make sure the world knows their names."
— Dumisani Khanyile
Meet the dedicated leaders whose expertise, passion, and strategic vision drive the Eminent Video Music Awards forward.
Lena Mdakane is an accomplished entrepreneur, business leader, and dedicated mentor with a robust background in strategic operations and commercial leadership. Since 2011, she has served as the co-owner and Director of Wave Armature Winding and is the CEO of Forever Armature Winding, specializing in heavy electrical engineering services and refurbishments. Beyond her corporate expertise, Lena is an award-winning gospel recording artist and the founder of the Malenas Foundation, where she provides crucial advocacy, music and business grooming, and financial support to youth and women empowerment initiatives. As CFO, her multifaceted administrative leadership and commercial financial experience drive the organization's financial integrity and sustainable growth.
Sive Inga Mekute is a highly accomplished media, public relations, and event management executive with nearly two decades of experience delivering complex campaigns across the entertainment and faith-based industries. As the Founder and CEO of Ndiyanna (Pty) Ltd, she has a proven track record of heading large-scale campaigns, media relations, and high-quality international project executions. Sive has lent her operations leadership to notable major productions, including serving as a producer for the 2025 Ingoma Awards and managing events for the Global Creative Summit and major concert tours. Holding qualifications in Entrepreneurship, Business Management, and Broadcasting, she brings unparalleled expertise in operations coordination, stakeholder engagement, and strategic execution to her role as Project Manager.
Keletso Dhlamini is a meticulous, strategic-thinking professional with over a decade of events management, media relations, and project coordination experience in the South African entertainment industry. He has spearheaded extensive coordinator roles for major cultural frameworks, most notably serving as the Events & Project Coordinator for the SATMA Awards, where he successfully managed national roadshows, multi-tier logistics, media house coverage, and major brand sponsorships. Keletso's professional competencies span financial budgeting, staff management, fleet administration, and public activations. His exceptional organization, combined with a proactive approach to stakeholder and logistics administration, makes him a vital asset in driving the flawless coordination of the organization's projects.
Priscilla Masanabo is a media personality, reality TV star, motivational speaker and broadcasting coordinator known from Moja Love Channel 157's Gug'Othandayo. With a background in banking marketing, branding, publishing, events and television, she uses media and outreach projects to empower women and youth through community programmes, school engagements, interviews and faith-based platforms.
Evh'a Nteso leads SALS and GudTV Africa, bringing experience across employment database development, government and municipal partnerships, job seeker preparation and data capturing. The work also extends into media production, including documentaries, films, corporate videos and music videos, as well as operational services in logistics, security and cleaning.
Lwazi Manqele is a seasoned broadcaster, MC and media entrepreneur with more than 20 years of South African broadcast experience. As founder of Africa Nobuhle Media and host-producer of The Podcast Cafe, he brings stage command, bilingual presentation, executive interview skill and partnership insight to EVMA sponsorships, stakeholder engagement and brand collaborations.
James Matthews is a Communication Studies graduate from Vaal University of Technology with a strong interest in public relations, media and event management. His work on the Ungazibulali Ndoda Conference strengthened his passion for using communication and events to connect communities, raise awareness and support meaningful social impact.
Complete the online form to submit by email and generate a PDF receipt, or download the manual PDF form if you prefer to complete it by hand.
Download the official EVMA26 PDF form if you prefer to complete the entry manually. Online entries below will generate a receipt PDF and send the completed details by email.
Manual forms can be completed separately, then uploaded here for email submission.
Your entry will be emailed to EVMA and your receipt PDF will be ready to download.