PUNCTURED HOPE ...Breaking The Rules

Second Issue (P. 46)

By Sabrina Johnson

Punctured Hope, the feature film based on the true story of Belinda Siamey, is presently in post-production and it will soon be presented to audiences worldwide. The plot consists of the enslavement of a young girl within the confines of a shrine, outside a small village in Ghana and her horrific ordeal through sexual abuse and genital mutilation. Her destiny is dictated by a tradition that is outlawed by the government, although not persecuted due to social and law-enforcing complexities. The film’s screenwriters, Pastor Kingsley Sam Obed and Bruno Pischiutta, aim at divulging this brutal time-honored practice to international audiences, because the majority of them are distressingly unaware of it.

The protagonist of the factual drama, Belinda Siamey, depicts the main character, Edinam. This valiant woman relived her traumatic captivity and the intensifying infliction of abuses, by summoning the strength of her unflinching moral fiber and her conviction, in her quest to bring this practice of glaring human abuses to a halt.

In the course of the pre-production stage, Toronto Pictures came to the determination of partially designating a Ghanaian team to the project, in order to deliver the most vivid resemblance of present day African reality in Ghana. This proved to be a successful measure as is self-evidenced by the film. The Producer, Mustapha Adam and the Assistant Director Tony White Meribe worked tirelessly in order to ascertain that the film presents an unmistaken reproduction of the several elements portraying the lifestyle and the cultural attributes of the story.

The shrine consists of a set design that is identical to the original, as are the costumes worn by the slaves, the manner in which the members of the shrine move about and the portrayal of the fetish priest’s demeanor. Other technical details such as the scenes depicting rituals of black magic, complement the film, initiating the ambiance that the plot evolves in.

Members of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Vienna recorded the original musical score composed by David Brandstatter in Vienna. The music does not constitute a presentation of African folk musical content, as a matter of fact, it is defined by a modern classical nuance that enhances the environment and elevates the multitude of emotions experienced by the performers, as they are communicated to the audience.

The Editor, Maria Concetta Diletti, attained the flowing development of the story by diligently sequencing the events. The outcome demonstrates her focused efforts on the pursuit of capturing the viewers’ attention throughout the film.

Bruno Pischiutta, a brilliant director, is conceived to be one with the capability of procuring the best possible performance from the actors he is directing, in an effort to communicate a distinct message to the spectators. Every film contains distinguished elements that inevitably reveal the intention of the director. Pischiutta’s flair for accomplishing the actors’ unequivocal comprehension of their characters’ essence and sentiments required to communicate the intended message is a remarkable skill. He has partially acquired this skill thanks to a lifetime of experience, gained by way of conducting multiple productions but, above all, this skill primarily consists of the innate ability to inspire others.

The content of the film’s message is intentionally directed to the American public and to all the women who are involved in the struggle for women’s liberation in particular. It is a film that introduces the social context of African life (in this case particularly relative to West Africa), and it evolves into a political film with a clear objective.

This expansion, from the social to the political aspect, is delivered with a dramatically poignant effect in the conclusion, as the medium of film assumes the idiosyncrasies of television, thereby revolutionizing the rules of cinematography.

Punctured Hope’s intent is to awaken the audience’s consciousness. By effectively rendering the spectators emotionally susceptible and intellectually engaged at the same time, the film’s message implies their accountability in making a choice. In the end, the eventuality of action or inaction on the spectator’s part corresponds, in fact, to a choice taken. This is an exemplary factual evidence of the best kind of political film and of "art breaking rules" in order to influence social change. D

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