Hundreds of film lovers who flocked to Labone over two days for a festival of film and television put together by New York University, Accra were rewarded with 11 spectacular screenings.
“For centuries, storytelling has been a cornerstone in Ghanaian and the wider African culture. It’s been a way to comment on social issues using metaphors and allegories to address injustices and to push for positive change,” said Harriet Thompson, the British High Commissioner to Ghana.
She noted that NYU Accra’s ‘Labone Dialogues’ series constantly contribute high level programming to the cultural landscape in Accra. “The calibre of participants and the quality of conversations that the NYU Accra team is able to pull in and put on is absolutely breathtaking.”
Thompson spoke just before the Ghana premiere of ‘The Mad Died’, the adaptation of Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka’s prison memoir on October 11.
The movie’s star, Nollywood heartthrob Wale Ojo, as well as producers Femi Odugbemi and Makin Soyinka were present. The film will be released in theatres and streaming services in 2025.
The audiences were also treated to hugely popular Ghanaian films like ‘Bad Luck Joe’ from Director Ramesh Jai, Nyamme Mma by Joewackle J. Kusi, Paapa Life Lessons by Gene Adu, and the Nollywood smash box office hit ‘A Tribe Called Judah’ whose writer, Collins Okoh, also jetted in from Lagos.
The screenings – all for free – were followed by conversations over refreshments with the directors, producers and actors of those endeavours in a celebration of storytelling from West Africa. “Film matters. And as the film industry here in Ghana takes off, Ghanaian filmmakers are using digital platforms to bring their stories to global audiences,” Thompson said.
Among those spotted in the NYU Accra gardens over those two days mingling with the actors and actresses and other creatives were members of the diplomatic corps, including Kyrre Holm, Deputy Head of Mission from the Norwegian Embassy; presenters Bliss King and Nana Akosua Hanson; playwright extraordinaire Latif Abubakar; musicians Wanlov the Kubolor, the Legon Palm Wine Band, among many others.
Past and current leaders of New York University, which is celebrating its 20th year in Ghana, also graced the occasion. Awam Amkpa, the director of ‘The Man Died’, is also an NYU vice-provost.
He reminded revelers that NYU Accra’s commitment to African storytelling goes back decades with the NYU Accra Reel Life Documentary Festival and was the inspiration for the huge iRepresent International Documentary Film Festival in Lagos Nigeria. Irep’s co-founder, Jahman Anikulapo, was also present.
“From the first day, documenting the African cities, countries and regions were an integral part of the scholarship of our students and our faculty,” said Chiké Frankie Edozien, the director of NYU Accra and curator of the Labone Dialogues series. “An incredible time was had as these films elevate the art form and tell our own story to the world that still barely know us,” Edozien, the author of Lives of Great Men,” added.
The StreamFest symposium weekend was capped with a celebration of 10 years of Nicole Amarteifio’s groundbreaking TV show, ‘An African City.’ It was a spirited conversation about life and love in Accra following a viewing of a remarkable episode. The StreamFest also featured documentaries on illegal mining, herbal medicines and filmmaking in Ghana.
In early 2020, the ‘Labone Dialogues by NYU Accra’ was conceived by Edozien. Since then, iconic artists like the late great Ama Ata Aidoo, the novelist, Ayesha Haruna Attah, Wole Soyinka, Esi Sutherland-Addy, and many others have all graced the NYU Accra stage.
