‘Somewhere In Africa’ premieres on Saturday, 30th July, 2011 at the National Theatre,Accra.
As we prepare to see one of the best movies to have come out ofGhana, GhanaCelebrities.Com caught up with the 2010 Ghana Movie Awards’ Best Actress-Roselyn Ngissah who plays a central role in the movie for a chit chat.
Roselyn is undoubted a very good actress with a lot of potential to hit the bigger screens. We spoke about ‘Somewhere In Africa’, her body size, working with other stars and then Roselyn had a little but golden advice for all the young girls who are aspiring to get into the game.
GhanaCelebrities.Com: What Is Your Role In ‘Somewhere In Africa’ About?
I’m the second in command to the commander himself, Mumbasa who is played by Majid Michel. In my role I take orders from Mumbasa. It’s quite a challenging role as I was terrorizing and killing innocent people not for any reason but because I was ordered to do it.
GhanaCelebrities.Com: What Did You Find Challenging About This Role?
Playing a character that was so militant was very challenging; also this was the first of this kind of character that I’ve ever acted. I’m always playing the naughty girl, the funny girl, professional girl such as a Dr or Lawyer.
In this role I had to play a soldier which was quite physically demanding and meant I had to do a lot of running around. The role really required me to be strong and fit. When I first got the role I have to admit I was taken aback by what would be involved.
I was thinking about my body size and how I look, I was thinking I’m not just any soldier but second in command. Initially I wanted to hit the gym but the director explained that he’d given me a challenging role to do and knows I am more than capable, so I had no other choice but to get into it.
Also when I arrived on set I wasn’t even aware that I would have to change my accent. I had already rehearsed and got myself into character and once I got on set I was told that they had decided to change the accent and this is how they want me to speak.
So that was a challenge within it’s self and thinking about getting into the character for the role of being second in command. So both challenges combined with the help of the director and especially Majid who was always there for me saw me through. Also the other actors on set such as Martha Ankomah, Gloria, Helen and others were a great support.
GhanaCelebrities.Com: Some people especially GhanaCelebrities.Com readers have been criticising the movie as a total ‘rip-off’ of the South African Movie ‘Sarafina’. As an actress in the movie with more insight on the storyline, do you honestly think it is a rip off of Sarafina?
I heard that some people were saying the movie is a duplicate of Sarafina but I think Sarafina is a movie on its own and ‘Somewhere In Africa’ is a movie on its own. These two stories are both told from two very different angles. If you watch the movie you’ll see that scene for scene they are very different.
What I will say is that most stories are similar like most American movies for example there are many movies about Russian Terrorism but within the similar stories the same story is told and reflected in different ways.
Other aspect of the movie that the director wanted to convey is the concept of the ambiguous African Accent. Sarafina was obviously South African whereas the accent in Somewhere In Africa was not as easy to pin point and that is what the director wanted.
GhanaCelebrities.Com: How Was It Working With Folks Like Majid Michel, Martha Ankomah, David Dontoh and co?
As I said Majid was really great to work with and is always there for all those he works with whether they are up and coming actors/actresses or well known stars. Martha is another fantastic actress. Gloria and Helen were great also.
Somewhere In Africa was really hyped before we even went on set for the first time and everybody decided to be on top of their game to make sure he or she performed at their best and I realised that everyone was so ready because of the hype but despite that the cooperation and understanding was there between all of us and the other actors were all really fun to work with.
GhanaCelebrities.Com: What Are You Up To Now, Are You Working On Any Projects You Will Want Your Fans To Know About?
Currently I’m actually with Shirley Frimpong-Manso on Adams Apples chapters so that is my main project and it’s going really well.
GhanaCelebrities.Com: Any Advice To The Young Girls Who Are Aspiring To Join The Movie Industry As Actresses?
What I would advise them is to be focused and have a dream and know what they want to be within the industry in the future and focus on this. Amidst everything you need to be very determined and give your dream of being an actress your full attention as you can’t become an actress without putting in the hard work.
Most importantly you must be prayerful and get guidance from God alongside hard work and determination and remaining focused.
Trailer Of ‘Somewhere In Africa’
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-ZOC6mc6Fc
Website: http://somewhereinafricamovie.com
Grand Premiere: National Theatre, 30th July, 2011 @ 6:00pm
September Premiere: London, New York, Houston
October Premiere: Dallas, Washington
I like how she answered all the questions.
Roselyn, to me you are one of the best if not the best.
@B.B, Yea, same here, I feel She is really smart.Much luv for u Rosselyn.
this lady is nice in person and talented too,i like,positive vibes
brilliant.. you are the best
She’s an amazing chick..I love her movies n she’s always real..
theres nufin wrong wit her weight ..just got big cheeks n thick arms..her legs look great.. oh she looks great..
why dont you do camera interviews.. its 2011.. lets step it up. im tired of reading lol.. my eyes hurt now.. lol nah but serious i appreciate the interview.. roselyn ur hot booboo
rock on missy!
I love Roselyn! I think she’s an amazing actress,very talented. This Interview exposed the gross inefficiency of movie makers in this country.How do you not tell an actor you want a certain kind of accent before she gets on set? In advanced countries,actors perfect a foreign accents months ahead of a shoot. No wonder,I hear Majid had varying accents at a point. We like mediocre things in this country too much,we must wake up!