Azali (film)

Last updated

Azali
Azali (film).jpg
Film poster
Directed byKwabena Gyansah
Written byKwabena Gyansah (story)
Gwandelen Quartey (screenplay)
Produced bySarah Dwommoh
Starring Ama K. Abebrese
Edited byWilliam Kojo Agbeti
Music byGomez Tito
Production
companies
  • Ananse Entertainment
  • Motion Revolution
Distributed byAnanse Entertainment
Release date
  • 26 October 2018 (2018-10-26)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryGhana
Languages Dagbani
Akan

Azali is a 2018 Ghanaian drama film directed by Kwabena Gyansah. It was selected as the Ghanaian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, but it was not nominated. [1] It was the first time that Ghana had submitted a film for the Best International Feature Film Oscar. [2]

Contents

Plot

A young girl, Amina, lives with her mother, grandmother, and uncle in a small village in northern Ghana. She lives a comfortable but boring life from which her mother wishes to free her. Her grandmother wishes for Amina to marry an older man from their village. Amina's mother protests and unknowingly sells Amina to strangers in the hopes of her finding a better life in the city. On her journey Amina meets young man who was also sold as a boy and, in some way, becomes her only friend. The two run away with a small band of kids who were also sold off. As the two embark on various errands through Accra they try to earn their keep.

The young man, Seidu, becomes popular as he is a quick and hard worker. Amina is clumsy and cannot keep up with the work given to her. She quickly finds herself living in a compound of a woman who demands rent daily. Here Amina learns that in order to stay she must always have money, however her job as a head-porter is not lucrative enough. She decides to join her neighbor, the landlord's favorite, as a prostitute in order to stay. For a while this goes well, but she grows sadder as the work goes on. Eventually she tries to reunite with Seidu. He turns her away because he cannot afford to be an outsider in his newly found living/working arrangements as a porter. Amina returns to the taxing compound and grows complacent as time passes. During this time Amina's Uncle, Akatok, goes to search for Amina in Accra after her mother finds out the news her daughter is “missing”.

For months Akatok searches but to no avail. He decides he will give up after just three months of searching, but is put back on track by an old friend with great advice. Amina, now more accustomed to her job, sleeps with a man who refuses to pay her the promised wage. She, in turn, breaks a glass over his head and steals the money from his wallet. Amina runs to find Seidu to tell him she wishes to go back home. Instead she find Seidu's boss who calls her in to wait on Seidu together. Seidu's boss attacks Amina while they are alone and rapes her. Seidu comes back to the terrible scene and apologizes for interrupting his boss. As he backs away he is visibly distraught by what he's just witnessed.

Seidu, later on, beats his boss for what he's done leaving him bleeding in the street. Amina returns to the demanding landlord and her neighbor who tries to care for her after the attack. Soon after Amina and the landlord learn of Amina's pregnancy for which the landlord berates her. Amina cannot have a baby in the compound, so she goes to live on the streets of Accra while just a few weeks pregnant. Eight months pass and Amina has become a head-porter again, this time more graceful and heavier; she is in her last trimester of pregnancy. Akatok and his friend continue their search nearby. While working Amina encounters a mob of people who are trying to beat a man to death. They call this man an animal and pour gasoline over him. Once she comes closer Amina realizes that the bloodied and beaten man is Seidu. In disgust and horror she turns away as the match is being lit. She also notices Seidu's boss in the crowd watching over everything as dark smoke begins to rise behind him. At this moment Akatok and his long-time friend spot Amina in the crowd and go to her. Akatok is overjoyed but it is short-lived as he notices Seidu's boss. He points out the man to Amina as her father, Razak; Amina immediately faints on hearing the news.

Finally, back in her hometown Amina, and Akatok, find her mother and grandmother in their compound. They rejoice for her return but again Amina falters, clutching her stomach. She gives birth in her family's compound under the star-filled sky. In the final scenes we hear the baby crying and the grandmother chanting over the baby. We hear a man, presumably Akatok, speak in his native tongue. The words on screen as he speaks read: This child will never be accepted by tradition so in our hearts we buried a secret only heaven knows.

Cast

Awards

The film was nominated in 15 categories at the 2018 Ghana Movie Awards. [3] It received 19 nominations at the 2019 Golden Movie Awards. [4]

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipientResultRef
2018 Ghana Movie Awards30 December 2018Best PictureSandra DwommohNominated [5] [3]
DirectingKwabena GyansahNominated
Lead ActressAsana AlhassanNominated
Lead ActorAdjetey AnnanNominated
Supporting ActressAma K. AbebreseNominated
Adapted or Original ScreenplayGwendellen QuateyNominated
2019 Golden Movie Awards 24 August 2019Golden SoundtrackGomez TitoWon [6]
Golden Promising ActorAsana AlhassanWon
Golden Indigenous MovieKwabena GyansahWon
Golden CinematographyWilliam K. AbgetiWon
Golden Movie DramaKwabena GyansahWon
Golden OverallKwabena GyansahWon

See also

Related Research Articles

Enid Margaret "Peggy" Appiah, MBE, was a British children's author, philanthropist and socialite. She was the daughter of the Right Honourable Sir Stafford Cripps and Dame Isobel Cripps, and the wife of Ghanaian lawyer and political activist Nana Joe Appiah.

Alhaji Mohammed Ahmed, popularly known as Mohammed Polo and the "Dribbling Magician", is a former Ghanaian international and local club football player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juliet Ibrahim</span> Liberian-Lebanese actress

Juliet Ibrahim is a Ghanaian actress, film producer and singer of Lebanese, Ghanaian and Liberian descent. She won the Best Actress in a Leading Role award at the 2010 Ghana Movie Awards for her role in 4 Play. She has been referred to as the "Most Beautiful West African Woman" according to A-listers Magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EL (rapper)</span> Ghanaian rapper

Elom Adablah, better known by his stage name E.L, is a Ghanaian Afrobeats musician, rapper, singer and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvonne Okoro</span> Ghanaian-Nigerian actress (born 1984)

Chinyere Yvonne Okoro is a Ghanaian Nigerian actress. Born to a Nigerian dad and Ghanaian mother, Yvonne Okoro is of mixed lineage and calls herself an African. Yvonne Okoro is from Koforidua in the Eastern Parts of Ghana. She received Ghana Movie Awards Best Actress Award in 2010 and was nominated for Africa Movie Academy Awards Best Actress twice in a row in 2011 and 2012 for her movies Pool Party and Single Six. She has also received four Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Award and in 2012 was honoured with a Distinguished Achievement Award at the Nigeria Excellence Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yvonne Nelson</span> Ghanaian actress and entrepreneur

Yvonne Nelson is a Ghanaian actress, model, film producer, author, entrepreneur and a former Miss Ghana Contestant. She has starred in several movies, including House of Gold (2013), Any Other Monday, In April, and Swings, and appeared in the limelight of the movie industry with a role she played in the "Princess Tyra" and "Playboy" movies.She has over 7.4M Followers on Instagram currently.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ama Ampofo</span> Ghanaian actress (born 1991)

Ama Ampofo is a Ghanaian actress and model. The third of four children, Ama was born in Accra on 22 June 1991. In 2014, she starred as "Claudia" in Shirley Frimpong-Manso's film, Devil in the Detail, a role that earned her an Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination and a Golden Movie award. Prior to her impressive movie debut, Ama featured in TV commercials and music videos in Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cina Soul</span> Ghanaian musician

Christie Quincyna Quarcoopome, also known in showbiz as Cina Soul, is a Ghanaian singer-songwriter and recording artist. A finalist at the 2014 Vodafone Ghana Music Icons competition held in Accra, Ghana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salma Mumin</span> Ghanaian actress and producer

Salma Mumin is a Ghanaian actress and producer. Her contributions to the Ghanaian movie industry have earned her several accolades, including Best International New Actress at the 2014 Papyrus Magazine Screen Actors Awards and Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2019 Ghana Movie Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akofa Edjeani Asiedu</span> Ghanaian actress, producer and entrepreneur

Akofa Edjeani is a Ghanaian veteran film actress, producer and entrepreneur. Her short film, Not My Daughter, won Best Short Film award at the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) in 2008, and I Sing of a Well, the movie she starred in and co-produced, won three awards and the Best Jury Award from Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2010.

<i>Naal</i> (film) 2018 Indian film

Naal is a 2018 Marathi film written and directed by Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti and produced by Nagraj Manjule. A Times of India review said "Naal' is a beautiful piece of work, mostly because of an emotional story and performances." At the 66th National Film Awards 2019, the film won the Best First Film of a Director trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martha Ankomah</span> Ghanaian actress

Martha Ankomah is a Ghanaian film actress and an entrepreneur

Kalsoume Sinare is a Ghanaian actress and former model. She has appeared in over fifty films, including Babina, Trinity, and Sala, for which she received a Golden Actress award in the Drama category.

<i>The Burial of Kojo</i> 2018 drama film

The Burial of Kojo is a 2018 Ghanaian drama film written, composed and directed by Blitz Bazawule. Produced by Bazawule, Ama K. Abebrese and Kwaku Obeng Boateng, it was filmed entirely in Ghana on a micro-budget, with local crew and several first-time actors. The film tells the story of Kojo, who is left to die in an abandoned gold mine, as his young daughter Esi travels through a spirit land to save him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baba Yara</span> Ghanaian footballer

Baba Yara was a Ghanaian international football player. He was popularly known as the ''King of Wingers''.

Selassie Ibrahim is a Ghanaian actress, film producer, mother, philanthropist, entrepreneur and the CEO of Smarttys Management and production. Selassie Ibrahim has starred in movies like "Her Mother’s Man" which was directed by Desmond Elliott for IROKOtv.she has also featured in movies like without bounds, love shenanigans, Graduation, City crime, I hate you too, Meet the Jacobs, 40 looks good on you, just to mention a few

Belinda Naa Ode Oku is a Ghanaian actress popularly known in showbiz as "Adwoa Smart". She was born at Abossey Okai, a suburb of Accra in Ghana. Adwoa has acted in numerous movies and drama episodes over several decades. She was very popular and highly sought after during the heyday of Akan drama from 1980 to the year 2000 and beyond. She has also featured in several music videos. Adwoa came into prominence as a cast member of the long-running Akan drama series "Obra" (Life) which aired on GTV during the 80s and 90s.

Delese Mimi Darko is a Ghanaian pharmacist. In 2017, she became the first woman to be appointed chief executive officer of the Ghana Food and Drugs Authority by Nana Akuffo-Addo.

The 2019 Golden Movie Awards is an African film award ceremony that was hosted at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, Ghana.

Mutawakilu Seidu is a Ghanaian professional footballer. He currently plays for Nigeria Professional Football League side Enugu Rangers, as a goalkeeper.

References

  1. ↑ Holdsworth, Nick (20 September 2019). "Oscars: Ghana Selects 'Azali' for International Feature Film Category". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  2. ↑ "Oscars 2020: il Ghana sceglie Azali". RB Casting. Retrieved 26 September 2019.
  3. 1 2 "2018 Ghana Movie Awards: Full List Of Nominees » GhBase•com™". GhBase•com™. 15 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  4. ↑ "'Azali', '94 Terror' Lead 2019 Golden Movie Awards". DailyGuide Network. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  5. ↑ "2018 Ghana Movie Awards rescheduled to December 30th". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  6. ↑ "2019 Golden Movie Awards Winners - Full List". PlugTimes.com. 25 August 2019. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.