THE FILM ACADEMY OF GHANA

KINGSLEY SAM OBED LOOKS TO A BRIGHT FUTURE FOR THE ARTS IN WEST AFRICA

Toronto Pictures Film Academy of Ghana - May/November 2006 Issue

Second Issue (P. 93)

By Jane Delson

The Film Academy of Ghana was realized in May 2005 and it is the first organization of its kind in West Africa and the brilliant idea of its Chairman, Bruno Pischiutta, who named Pastor Kingsley Sam Obed to serve as its CEO. It defined the onset of a long term plan aimed at launching a global wealth of film schools intended to generate professional cinematography and slated to offer genuine excellence, to the film industry, originating from unique talent pools worldwide.

The creation of the Film Academy of Ghana had its roots during the beginning stages of Punctured Hope. This major motion picture was realized as a result of a fruitful and exciting co-operation between Pischiutta and Obed, a local writer, with extensive experience writing scripts for regional film producers, theatres and television programming.

Obed’s work ranges from drama to comedy and his knowledge of native Ghanaian history and culture proved invaluable. He introduced the theme of trokosi (a tribal cultural practice that promotes the continued enslavement, mutilation and sexual abuse of West Africa’s young girls and women) for a feature film, which developed into a collaboration with Pischiutta in order to create the screenplay for Punctured Hope. The film was shot in Kpobikofe, a small village just outside of Accra - Ghana’s capital city. The visions of Pischiutta, Obed and Daria Trifu (The Academy’s President) conceptualized by creating a world-class film using an all-African cast and a predominantly all-African crew.

The project marked the first time a North American film production company had ventured so far a-field of traditional casting methods and it ultimately gave rise to the Toronto Pictures Film Academy of Ghana. The Academy has been listed and registered as a member of the International Artist Alliance, a body responsible for Actors and Actresses across Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. The International Artist Alliance was launched in Accra, Ghana on April 8th 2006 and Kingsley Obed was elected as its Chairman.

The Academy’s expansive curriculum embraces all aspects of filmmaking – from acting and directing, to lighting and set design – among many other skill sets requisite in the making of a movie. Members of the professional Ghana Actors Guild serve as adjunct faculty to the Academy, where classes are held twice weekly with frequent guest lecturers. The students, who currently number over one hundred, are required to shoot short films, which are then critiqued by both the institution’s faculty and their peers. Occasional public screenings are held where local residents may attend and audience reaction serves as its own useful instructive.

The Academy’s physical plant is very small and spare by Western standards, offering a single studio and a classroom, but Toronto Pictures has plans well in motion to expand the facility, as it is simultaneously committed to enhancing the Kpobikofe community. In fact, the Canadian company is donating a significant portion of Punctured Hope’s profits to a Foundation whose priority is the provision of various improvements for the village where the movie was filmed.

A year-end celebration and Awards Ceremony Gala, was held for the outstanding Actors and Actresses of the Academy. Belinda Siamey was awarded with the International Star award for her rendition of Edinam in Punctured Hope, which brought immediate intensity and credibility to the film. Ruffy Quansah Jr. was voted Best Actor and Joseph Havor received the Comedian of the Year award. Monica Osei Tutu received the Best Actress award for the leading role in a local movie entitled Prodigal, which was shot by members of the Academy. The nominations were the result of collective votes by the Academy members.

Obed, who is also a Pastor in Accra’s Word Aflame Ministries, sees the founding of The Film Academy of Ghana as nothing less than Providential for aspiring cinema artists in West Africa. "Toronto Pictures’ involvement in our village is literally an answered prayer", he states passionately. "It has afforded a new future for the foundering film industry here, by reviving the belief that we can educate our young people to be competitive in acting, writing, directing, producing and marketing films that are viable internationally." "More than merely creating enthusiasm and hope", Obed notes, "Toronto Pictures’ Academy has provided Ghana the means to achieve a greater film presence internationally." Trifu reaffirms Obed’s sentiments by emphasizing the potential that the Academy’s associates have, to ultimately represent the conceptualization of Africa to the world in any of the upcoming projects that they take part in.

"It is remarkable that a North American company with no established financial interests in our country, has made such a long-term commitment to our community", Obed observes. "Bruno Pischiutta has proven himself to be much more than a film-maker. He has clearly chosen to use the Arts as a means to affect social and political change…to enhance the quality of the lives he has encountered, here, without changing the essential cultural content of the community".

Daria Trifu explains in further detail: "We don’t just want to make movies; we want to make movies that educate, inspire and move people towards change proactively. Our artistic mission is to elevate awareness and influence political and cultural consciousness globally, regarding issues of moment, not only to Africa, but to human rights internationally."

Obed reiterates the significance of Punctured Hope in addressing human rights violations and in giving a global voice to the many trokosi victims, who would otherwise have gone largely unnoticed. He notes that: "The role of educators at the Academy, is to continue giving voice to victims of injustice in all forms, and to afford artists, in all aspects of cinematic production, the opportunity to produce films that meet the global industry’s highest standards".

The Academy’s participation and its active involvement in the production of Punctured Hope provided its students with the opportunity of completing some of their training on the set of a professional, Hollywood standard, film production. It also gave them the chance to act in a film with famous and seasoned professional African actors, many of whom had already been part of international productions.

The Ghana Actors Guild and Concert Party Union have appointed the Academy as the sole organizer for the GHANA INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARD.

Kingsley Sam Obed is presently working on a new screenplay intended to expose yet another West African cultural phenomenon, which engenders enslavement by propagating the belief in witchcraft. Under his stewardship, the Film Academy of Ghana will clearly fulfill its mission of revitalizing West Africa’s film industry and achieving the global social change toward which Toronto Pictures aspires. D

BACK TO MAIN PAGE >>