George Amponsah

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George Amponsah (born 1968 in Roehampton) is a British director of documentary films. His 2015 feature-length documentary about the death of Mark Duggan, The Hard Stop , won him a 2017 BAFTA nomination for the Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. [1]

Contents

Biography

Born and raised in London, Amponsah is of Ghanaian parentage. [2] He started taking photographs and working with Super 8mm film in the 1980s. In 1989, he attended the University of East London, and a post-graduate film won him a scholarship to take the directing course at the National Film and Television School (NFTS). [2] [3] Since graduating in 2000 from the NFTS, he has taught documentary filmmaking there and at the Met Film School. [2] He continued to work as a tutor with young people, while making short films for the web and developing new feature films. [3]

His 2004 BBC documentary The Importance of Being Elegant was about Congolese singer Papa Wemba. The Fighting Spirit (2007) followed three young boxers in Ghana. [4]

His 2015 feature-length documentary about the death of Mark Duggan, The Hard Stop , was nominated in 2017 for a BAFTA in the category "Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer", [5] [6] and for two British Independent Film Awards: Best Documentary and Breakthrough Producer. [7] [8]

Amponsah's debut feature film, Gassed Up, was announced for launch on Amazon Prime Video in 2023. [9]

Documentaries

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References

  1. ↑ "Baftas 2017: Full list of winners". BBC News. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "George Amponsah talks directing and new BBC doc 'Black Power': executive produced by Steve McQueen". alt-africa.com. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  3. 1 2 "George Amponsah". African Film Festival New York. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  4. ↑ Ritman, Alex (21 October 2016). "British Independent Film Awards 2016: The Debut Directors Long List". Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  5. ↑ Photiou, Andrea (11 January 2017). "Mark Duggan Documentary Is Nominated For A BAFTA". The Voice.
  6. ↑ Grater, Tom (5 February 2017). "Baftas 2017: How Mark Duggan doc 'The Hard Stop' became a contender". Screen Daily .
  7. ↑ "LCC alumna Dionne Walker nominated for a BAFTA Film Award and two British Independent Film Awards for 'The Hard Stop'". UAL. 7 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "Graduate Profile: Dionne Walker". Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  9. ↑ Ravindran, Manori (20 July 2022). "Amazon Prime Video Greenlights U.K. Action Thriller 'Gassed Up' From 'Hard Stop' Director George Amponsah (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  10. ↑ Feay, Suzi (19 March 2021). "'Black Power' brings a vital slice of British social history to BBC2". Financial Times . Retrieved 1 April 2021.
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