M.anifest is soon set to take his talents into the world of cinema as he has revealed that he is to serve as the musical director for the upcoming film adaptation of the short story ‘On Monday of Last Week’.
The short story, part of the critically acclaimed anthology ‘The Thing Around Your Neck’, written by celebrated Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; has been tapped for the big screen, and the Ghanaian lyricist is set to play a role in the adaptation.
Akosua Adoma Owusu
Award-winning Filmmaker-Akosua Adoma Owusu Launches Save the Rex Initiative for Ghana’s Creative Culture
For most of 2013, filmmaker Akosua Adoma Owusu’s time and energy has been spent promoting her semi-autobiographical film “Kwaku Ananse.” After premiering the film at the Berlinale, Toronto, and London film festivals (where she received tremendous accolades), Owusu returned to Accra to begin her next project, “Damn the Man, Save the REX.”
The REX Cinema, located in Ghana’s capital city Accra, was built in the mid-20th Century by Ghana’s first president – Kwame Nkrumah. Once a vibrant and well-attended theatre, it now sits largely unused.
Determined not to let Ghana’s growing cinematic culture slip into decline, Owusu has put her passionate, creative drive to work reviving The REX Cinema.
Just last week, she launched a Kickstarter Campaign, also titled “Damn the Man, Save the REX,” through which she hopes to raise $8,000. The money will be used to transform The REX into a creative space that can be used not only by aspiring filmmakers, but musicians and other artists as well.
“My project, is about preserving Ghana’s cultural heritage, and is extremely personal to me,” she says. “Africans and Africans of the Diaspora can offer something real and valuable to the world of cinema…”
Akosua Adoma Owusu’s Film-Kwaku Ananse To Premiere At London Film Festival
Akosua Adoma Owusu’s film, Kwaku Ananse, which has won numerous international awards, is making its UK debut at the 57th BFI London Film Festival. Kwaku Ananse is one of four short films from Focus Features Africa First Program being shown at the festival this year.
Kwaku Ananse has received high praise and strong support around the world. It was included in the French Film Academy’s Golden Nights Panorama as part of the World’s Best Short Films category, and also received recognition at the Berlinale, Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals.
At its North American debut in Toronto, Kwaku Ananse was described as “a spellbinding, semi- autobiographical interpretation of a traditional Ghanaian folktale in which the contemporary collides with the mythological in both content and form.”
Owusu says she is “very humbled to be invited back” to the London Film Festival, and she’s excited to share her film with London audiences. Her short film Me Broni Ba (My White Baby) – a lyrical portrait of hair salons in Ghana – premiered at the Festival in 2009 and received recognition from several film festivals that same year.