Kwaw Ansah

Last updated

Kwaw Ansah
Kwaw Ansah.jpg
Born
Kwaw Paintsil Ansah

1941 (age 82–83)
Agona Swedru, Ghana
NationalityGhanaian
CitizenshipGhanaian
Education
Occupations
  • filmmaker
  • production designer
  • theater designer
  • dramatist
  • music composer
Years active1964–present
Notable work Love Brewed in the African Pot (1980); Heritage Africa (1989)

Kwaw Paintsil Ansah (born 1941) is a Ghanaian film-maker, whose work as writer, director or producer includes Love Brewed in the African Pot in 1980 and Heritage Africa in 1989. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] His first feature, Love Brewed in the African Pot, earned immediate popular and critical acclaim throughout English-speaking Africa. Despite all the awards and the success, it would be nearly 10 years before Ansah could complete his next major film project, the ambitious Heritage Africa (1989). Yet again, the film was widely acclaimed and awarded. Since then, Ansah has produced other films, including Harvest at 17 (1994), Crossroads of People, Crossroads of Trade (1994) and The Golden Stool, the Soul of the Asantes (2000). Ansah is a crusader for African filmmaking and dramatic art, working ceaselessly for improved funding and distribution of African films within Africa. He has been chairman of FEPACI and a leader in the direction of FESPACO. In 1998, Ansah was awarded the Acrag Prize, the Living Legend Award for Contribution to the Arts of Ghana. [6]

Contents

Early life

Kwaw Paintsil Ansah was born in 1941 in Agona Swedru, Ghana. His mother was a trader, and his father a trained photographer (as well as a painter, musician, and dramatist). After his initial schooling at an Anglican Mission School, Ansah studied for his O-Levels in the capital city of Accra, while working as a textile designer at the United Africa Company. [7] He has expressed enormous gratitude for his success and development as a filmmaker to his father, who wanted him to engage in his own trade of photography. However, the young Ansah, having discovered his talent for drawing and painting, had other options. [8]

Education

From 1961 to 1963 he was enrolled in London's Regent Street Polytechnic, where he obtained a diploma in theater design. Following his education in England, he studied in the US, graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the American Music and Drama Academy from 1963 to 1965. His first theatre play, The Adoption, was produced off-Broadway in 1964. [8]

Career

Upon his return to Ghana in 1965, Ansah found commercial work in both film and television. He worked for two years as a Production Assistant and Set Designer for the Ghana Film Industry Corporation, and also made commercials for Lintas Advertising Agency in Accra. He was the set designer for Egbert Adjesu's film I Told You So (1970). Ansah went on to found his own advertising firm, Target Advertising Services, in 1973. He continues to do commercial advertising work (his company is now called Target Saatchi & Saatchi Ltd), which, he says, "Pays The Bills". One of his television commercials won him a New York-based CLIO Award in 1989.

Along with his commercial work, Ansah continued his engagement with the world of theater and the arts. Soon after his return to Ghana he became an executive member of the Ghana Drama Association and the Ghana Association of Writers, and an officer of the Film Guild of Ghana. His play Mother's Tears was performed at the Drama Studio in Accra in 1967, and was instantly successful. It would later be reprised at the Accra Arts Centre in 1973, 1991 and at the National Theatre in 1995. [7]

Love Brewed in the African Pot

Ansah founded his film production company, Film Africa Limited, in 1977, and began work on the project that would become Love Brewed in the African Pot (1980). It was an immediate popular success throughout English-speaking Africa, beating all previous attendance records for a film by an African director, while at the same time earning critical acclaim and respect. The film earned awards worldwide, including the prestigious Omarou Ganda Prize, for "most remarkable direction and production in line with African realities" at the seventh Pan-African Film Festival (FESPACO), the first to be awarded a film from an Anglophone country; the UNESCO Film Award in France, and the Jury's Special Silver Peacock Award, "For a Genuine and Talented Attempt to Find a National and Cultural Identity" at the 8th International Film Festival of India. [7]

Heritage Africa

Despite all the awards and the success, it would be nearly ten years before Ansah could complete his next major film project, the ambitious Heritage Africa (1989). Ansah faced the enormous challenges that are the bane of filmmakers in Africa. Making the film was one long struggle to find the money and corral the necessary resources. As was the case with Love Brewed, he had his hand in nearly all aspects of the film's production—even writing the theme music for the two films, along with directing, writing, and producing. However, it was the logistical challenges that were most overwhelming. It was an exhausting, even debilitating process. He emerged from the experience with his health seriously compromised, but with an impressive, widely acclaimed film. Heritage Africa won the grand prize at FESPACO in 1989 (again, the first from an Anglophone country), the Organization for African Unity's Best Film Award, Outstanding Film Award at the 1989 London Film Festival, and numerous others. [7]

Crossroads of People, Crossroads of Trade

Ansah's documentary Crossroads of Trade, Crossroads of People, made for the Ghana Museum and Monuments Board and sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, now runs continuously in Cape Coast Castle, as part of a rather controversial effort to rehabilitate/renovate the slave forts and castles. [6] [7] [9]

He has received several national, international and professional awards including The Order of the Nation of Burkina Faso (March 1995) for Arts & Culture; Best Documentary and TV Production Award for Crossroads of People, Crossroads of Trade (FESPACO-1995); The Grand Prix Award for Heritage Africa at FESPACO, Ouagadougou, 1989, which was the first from Anglophone Africa.

Ansah made a comeback after a while from active filmmaking in 2010 with the release of Good Old Days: The Love of AA (2010). [10] Since then, he has made films like The Good Old Days: Papa Lasisi Good Bicycle (2011), The Good Old Days: Suffering to Lose (2012) [11] and Praising The Lord Plus One (2013). [12] At the first NAFTI Film Lectures in 2011 on the Ghanaian Motion Picture Industry, Ansah was honoured for his immense contribution to cinema. During that same event, he was also given the Osagyefo Lifetime Achievement Award by the Ghana Academy of Film and Television Arts (GAFTA). [13]

In October 2014, Ansah launched a comic book based on his critical acclaimed 1980 film Love Brewed in the African Pot , the first film to be adapted into a comic book in Ghana. [14] Ansah is a founding member of the Ghana Academy of Film and Television Arts.

Filmography

Related Research Articles

The Ga-Dangbe, Ga-Dangme, Ga-Adangme or GaDangme are an ethnic group in Ghana, Togo and Benin. The Ga and Dangbe people are grouped respectively as part of the Ga–Dangme ethnolinguistic group. The Ga-Dangmes are one ethnic group that lives primarily in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. Ethnic Ga family names (surnames) include Nikoi, Amon, Kotey, Kotei, Adei, Kutorkor, Oblitey, Lartey, Nortey, Aryee, Obodai, Oboshi, Torgbor, Torshii and Lante. The following are names derived from the ethnic Dangme and common among the Ningos Nartey, Tetteh, Kwei, Kweinor, Kwetey, Narteh, Narh, Dugbatey, Teye, Martey, Addo, Siaw, Saki, Amanor, Djangba. These are aligned to the ethnic Ga as well: Lomotey, Tetteh, Ankrah, Tetteyfio, Laryea, Ayitey, Okai, Bortey, Quaye, Quaynor, Ashong, Kotei, Sowah, Odoi, Ablor, Adjetey, Dodoo, Darku and Quartey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beattie Casely-Hayford</span> Ghanaian entrepreneur, broadcasting and media expert

Beattie Casely-Hayford was a Ghanaian engineer. He was the first director of the Ghana Arts Council, a co-founder of the Ghana National Dance Ensemble, and a director of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richie Mensah</span> Ghanaian singer-songwriter

Richie Mensah, better known by his stage name Richie, is a Ghanaian singer-songwriter and record producer. After producing records for several artists, Richie set up Lynx Entertainment record label and released his debut album All of Me on the label in 2008. He has since then gone on to win several awards both as a singer and record producer and is fast establishing himself as one of the biggest names in the Ghanaian music industry.

Love Brewed in the African Pot is a 1980 Ghanaian romantic drama film directed by Kwaw Ansah. It was reportedly the first privately financed Ghanaian feature film and is considered a classic.

Kofi Ansah was a Ghanaian fashion designer. He was considered a pioneer in promoting modern African styles and design on the international stage. He was married to Nicola Ansah and the father of actor Joey Ansah, Ryan Ansah and Tanoa Sasraku-Ansah.

The Ghana Academy of Film and Television Arts (GAFTA) is a private, professional organization dedicated to the advancement of excellence in the art, craft and science of the motion picture industry — film, television and new media. The Academy is made up of the following guilds and associations: Directors Guild of Ghana (DGG), Cinematographers Guild of Ghana (CGG), Art Directors' and Designers' Guild of Ghana (ADGG), Animator's Association of Ghana (AAG), Screen Writers Guild of Ghana (SWGG), Film and Television Production Facilitators Guild of Ghana (FTPFGG), Producers Guild of Ghana (PGG), Motion Picture Sound Guild of Ghana (MPSGG) and Screen Editors Guild of Ghana (SEGG).

Christian Tsui Hesse, popularly known as Chris Hesse is a Ghanaian cinematographer, filmmaker, film administrator, photographer and Presbyterian minister who is known for his cinematography in several award-winning films such as the critically acclaimed Love Brewed in the African Pot (1980) and Heritage Africa (1989). He was the personal photographer of Ghana's first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah. Chris Hesse helped to document the visual history of the political leadership and development of the country. He also worked for the United Nations, serving as a photographer, documenting the Congo crisis in 1960.

King Ampaw is a Ghanaian filmmaker and actor born in Kukurantumi in the Eastern Region of Ghana. He is known for starring as the second lead role with the late Hollywood actor, Klaus Kinski in Werner Herzog's sensational film Cobra Verde (1987) which he also co-produced. He also co-produced the film African Timber (1989) directed by Peter F. Bringmann. He is married with two sons.

Robert Kwame "Bob J" Johnson was a famous Ghanaian cinematographer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of Ghana</span> Filmmaking in Ghana

Cinema of Ghana also known as the Ghana Film Industry nicknamed Ghallywood, began when early film making was first introduced to the British colony of Gold Coast in 1923. At the time only affluent people could see the films, especially the colonial master of Gold Coast. In the 1950s, film making in Ghana began to increase. Cinemas were the primary venue for watching films until home video became more popular. The movie industry has no official name as yet since consultations and engagements with stakeholders has been ongoing when a petition was sent to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture which suspended the use of the name Black Star Films.

Nana Yaw Nkrumah born in Accra, professionally known as Dr Ray Beat is a Ghanaian record producer and sound engineer, who produces music ranging from Afrobeat, Hip hop, Hiplife, Azonto, Dancehall and Afropop. He also produced for Guru, Kwaw Kese, Kofi Kinaata and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Felicia Abban</span> Ghanaian photographer (1936/1937 – 2024)

Felicia Ewuraesi Abban was Ghana's first female professional photographer. She worked as a photographer for the country's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, for a number of years during the 1960s.

Bashiru Kwaw-Swanzy was a Ghanaian politician, who served as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the First Republic. Born Benard Edward Kwaw-Swanzy, he was also known as Bartholomew Ebassuah Kwaw-Swanzy and later as Alhaji Bashiru Kwaw-Swanzy.

<i>The Good Old Days: The Love of AA</i> 2010 Ghanaian film

The Good Old Days: The Love of AA is a 2010 Ghanaian romance film which tells a story about two friends who fell in love with each other from their days of Senior High School. It was directed by Kwaw Ansah and released in 2010.

Heritage Africa is Ghanaian movie which was produced and directed by Kwaw Ansah in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AnimaxFYB Studios</span> Animation Company

AnimaxFYB Studios is an animation multimedia company founded by Francis Yushua Brown. The company tells African stories in an animated format. They specialize in visual effects as well as 2D and 3D Animation. They have produced award winning animations.

Mensa Ansah, better known as M3NSA is a British Ghanaian producer, composer, rapper, singer and filmmaker. Known for his recognizable sound and instinctual storytelling, while still being deeply rooted in his motherland, he has grown into an international sensation through the years because of his ability to navigate different languages, cultures, and art expressions.


Evans Nii Oma Hunter was a Ghanaian veteran actor, producer, director and writer who contributed to the growth of the local movie and theater industry.

Joyce Anima Misa Amoah is a Ghanaian actress, playwright and a director.

Emmanuel Ofei Ansah was a Ghanaian former professional footballer and manager. During his playing career he played as a defender for Accra Hearts of Oak. At the international level, he is known for his involvement in the squad that won the 1978 African Cup of Nations. Whilst serving as the manager of Accra Hearts of Oak, on 7 June 2005, he collapsed after a Ghana Premier league match and was rushed to the Ridge Hospital, Accra, but unfortunately died the following day.

References

  1. ↑ "Kufuor Raises Thumb For Kwaw Ansah". Modern Ghana. 19 September 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  2. ↑ "Kwaw Ansah Bounces Back With New Movie". Modern Ghana. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "Kwaw Ansah's new film premieres tomorrow | Entertainment News". Graphic.com.gh. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  4. ↑ Odidi, Billie (16 October 2013). "Kwaw Ansah pillories false prophets and messiahs". Daily Nation. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  5. ↑ "A Ghanaian filmmaker's take on how churches get rich". BBC News. 18 September 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Heritage Africa Synopsis". Lusaka international film and music festival. Archived from the original on 27 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Rebrow, Michael. "Kwaw P. Ansah". Portland Community College. Archived from the original on 20 August 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  8. 1 2 Ukadike, Nwachukwu (2002). Questioning African Cinema: Conversations with Filmmakers . University of Minnesota Press. p.  3. ISBN   9780816640058.
  9. ↑ Anyidoho, Lauer, Kofi, Helen (2012). Reclaiming the Human Sciences and Humanities Through African Perspectives, Volume 2. African Books Collective. p. 1166.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Aglanu, Dela (20 August 2010). "The Good Old Days ... A Legend brought back to life". Joy Online. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Kwaw Ansah to release 'Suffering to Lose'". Peacefmonline.com. 2 November 2011. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  12. ↑ Ogova, Onelego (2013). "Ghanaian Kwaw Ansah's Film on Phony Christian Preachers Premieres!" . Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  13. ↑ Dadzie, Ramatu (2011). "Awards Night" . Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  14. ↑ "'Love Brewed In Africa Pot' Comic Book Launched". Peacefmonline.com. 27 October 2014. Retrieved 26 February 2015.
  15. ↑ "Throwback Thursday: Remembering some classic Ghanaian movies - MyJoyOnline.com". www.myjoyonline.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
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.