"Ewoenyemawua" Are you God? That's what that means. Wenye (short version) is my friends "tribal" name. We grew up together in Ho_city. Wenye was very quiet, laid back and very sisterly. She's always been my baby sister. Today, she is known by her stage name Azizaa.
I have had it with the hypocrisy of the Ghanaian. One of the things we do best in Ghana is draw a chair, wipe out our ears and discuss someone who has no direct correlation to us! If you're discussing someone you have a direct, one on one issue with, that's valid. But to discuss someone who has no bearing on your life....
I began directing films in primary school. Class 4 to be precise. During library period. but, it was my hobby. I was all poised to become an OBGYN. It had nothing to do with gender. Because the way we were raised, we knew nothing about men and women and their limitations. We knew we could be anything we wanted to be. I enjoyed my hobby. I didn't think It could be a career because I had no idea how it could.
Sleeping is my hobby, but it can't possibly be a career now, could it? That won't be a bad idea though.
There were about five (5) phases in the Ghana film Industry. The first was with the likes of Haile Gerima and Werner Herzog. Foreigners who made films in Ghana. Then came the King Ampaws and Kwaw Ansahs, Ghana Films Company and the teachers of NAFTI who made up the second phase. This was followed by what I'll like to call the indie films of the 90s, or the low budget films of Socrates Safo, Hacky Films, Akwetey Kanyi films, Hajia Hawa Meizongo, Miracle Films, Idikoko, etc and what became GAMA, after GFC got sold.
These 3rd phase folks were about the only production companies around the time I started to take interest in the field. I enjoyed watching those movies. We had no VCR at home. Never. Not till I was 16 did my parents buy a VCR. We were raised with books, so whatever came on regular TV is what I got to watch. Those were the days we completed our house chores quickly on public holidays so we could watch Ghanaian films that came on at 2pm or 8am.
Then, something happened. I remember one day I was at home, watching a movie and I felt a difference in its tone and theme.
As good as the movies being made at that time were for that time, some things were lacking. Not a single woman directed any of them, no verbosity from the actors, screen direction and the kind of roles women played. Women were witches, suffering wives, evil girlfriends etc. Extremely flat characters and movies that were rife with stereotypes.
But that particular film, the female lead owned her role, owned her sexuality and the English was well written and well spoken, it was a mature film. All the characters had depth. A little bit of stilted acting from the lead girl, but what did I know then? I watched keenly till the end and the writer director was a WOMAN. VERONICA QUARSHIE.
I was mesmerized. Apart from Mira Nair, whose Mississippi Masala floored me, no other woman had that effect on me. Not one from my country. This was something to think about. I took a notebook and I started to write. My writing became intense. I had been inspired. My mother during this time was doing all she could to get me away from science and into the arts. Much to the chagrin of my dad, I must say. I began to really consider it. I was still bent on being an OBGYN though, cos I love my dad . Until, through a series of events, I met Akwetey Kanyi. By then, the tone of our films had changed. The fourth phase had begun; Nigerians had invaded the industry and I left Ghana.
I was impressed that a woman was doing something I loved doing and it felt right. It felt normal, it felt doable. It was within reach.
Veronica changed the narrative. She took women from an obscure, stilted and gender imbalanced story lines to women who owned their space. Goodbye to the witch mother-in-law, the house wife, the "I depend on my husband woman". Lead roles for women had meat on them. Her technical storytelling, mis-en-scene were perfect. Hold up, her stories did not create women who were validated by love. Love was just an icing on the cake. She told everyday stories. Realistic plots and she had an identity for what a Ghanaian film should be. It was a blend of the second and third phases. All the juju, witchcraft and mysticism that over simplified and complicated life at the same time were gone.
I searched the internet for days to get some information in this woman for my article and I found none.
But I remember I spoke to people about Veronica back then, late 90s. She was the only woman working in the industry when I decided I wanted to. By then, I was interning for Socrates Safo and writing for GAMA Films. I wasn't satisfied. so, I went to Princess films to meet her but I could not. She worked for Princess Films, owned by Moro Yaro. She graduated from the Ghana National Film and Television Institute in 1989, she is married to Mr. Nai, an editor and they have a son.
I'd attribute the MIA period of Veronica to the influx of Nigerian films and the return to the obnoxious, fashion conscious films and of course, financing. When GAMA got sold, the industry died, the Nigerian invasion only made Nollywood rich. It didn't do much for Ghana until Abdul Salaam in 2005 opened the flood gates with Divine Love, which pretty much took a little bit of the tone of Veronica Quarshie's style, modernized it and others followed from there. The fifth phase. Our current stage.
It is very easy to follow the status quo and do what every other person is doing. But being a woman and daring to be different, the Ghana film industry is not very sustainable for you. Here's to the woman who broke the glass ceiling. Mama Vero! If we don't celebrate each other, no one will.
Watch one of her films: A Stab in the Dark
This is where I use this blog and article to petition the Ministry of Women and the Silverbird Cinemas to show films made by women every year on the 8th of March, which is International Women's Day.
Please share and let everyone know of the woman who made it possible!
I'm expecting to be called all kinds of names for this post. In Ghana, we only fight, we do not analyze. It's easier to not listen and fight. But that will not stop me from sharing my opinion. I'm entitled to one, right?
My phone's annoying buzz woke me up at 1am today. Someone from Ghana, calling to tell me something completely random. I was so pissed because, when I wake, going back to sleep is near impossible.
Anyway. I started surfing the internet in Nigeria, cos I am really fascinated by General Buhari and what his leadership spells for Nigeria and Africa as a whole.
What I really wanted to blog about today is Hospital Killings. I'll do that next week.
I thought I'd heard it all before, but this Halidu Haruna man has just declared I haven't really heard it all.
I've been quietly following Yvonne Nelsons #Dumsormuststop campaign and I fully support her. I was in Ghana in February and it was not a very pleasant experience. My mum and my girls had histamine reactions from eating rotten fish. They had no idea it had gone bad from the constant power outages.
Haha! Hahaha! Did y'all miss me? I missed my horrible writing/rambling.
I've
been working y'all. Been working 10months straight on the film Where
Children Play. Got to work with Macy Gray. Remember the song? 'I try to
say goodbye and I choke'. Yep, that's my Aunt Mace!
So, let's get down and dirty and tell some truths ok.
Last
week, my African family social media was buzzing with joy. 'we have
arrived! We have finally made it! Nollywood films are on netflx!'.
There's
a Nigerian proverb that goes thus;
it is the child who has not traveled
outside of his home, who insists his mother's soup is the sweetest'.
I think it's amazing, the exposure this gives Nollywood. But, exposure can go both ways.
If you look good naked, you can walk around a nude beach. If you have my kinda body, small small everywhere, cover up.
Nollywood
has been grinding for years! Years! It needs victories. Sadly though, so sorry to
burst your bubble guys. Nollywood films on Netflix are a victory for one
person only. iROKO TV. They got the films there.
Yes, your films are on netflix, but is it showing up in your pocket? To be content that your film is on netlfix is so superficial. You need to benefit from your film being there - Financially.
Assuming
the filmmakers are given some small change, by irokoTV for their films getting on
Netflix, this would have been a major break. But they are not. The way
the iroko deal works, they pay you an ok flat fee for a number of years.
5-15,000 dollars; no royalties. Therefore, if for the next 5 years they earn 100k on
your film, they get to keep all that. All other African distributors
use this model. Sadly, if you make a film on 500k, you still get paid
same amount the person who made it for 20k gets paid. It's a jungle out there.
I
have a film on Netflix. I was paid a hefty sum for the license by the
distributor upfront, plus a distribution deal, plus 50pct share of
profits. No, not a nollywood distributor. An American one. If they
release my film on any platform, or do a sub license to another platform, I'm happy, because, money will come. My
rent is due.
On the other hand, it would have been a victory for the filmmaker if the films were good enough to show the world.
I've
seen the selection and 90% of the films there are crap. You get one
chance to prove to the world that the African can handle his own affairs
and this is what you show?
I watched a film on iROKO TV called 'Apaye'.
Oh, I loved it! I loved it! It wasn't part of the netflix selection.
'Tango with me' another very good one, was not there either.
Whether
you are an actor. A distributor or a producer, you are an ambassador of
your enterprise to others. If you have an opportunity to put Africa on a
pedestal, use it wisely.
Filmmakers.
Now that you know iROKO will put your films on netflix, and you know you
won't see any money from the profits, at least, put up a good product,
so someone else will see your work and give you a bigger opportunity.
You can circumvent the system and self distribute your films. That's what I did for my African titles. I chop it up. No one has an exclusive deal. If you want to try this, do it. You can also use an aggregator called Distribber. I've never used them, so I cannot advise: https://www.distribber.com/
Now is is the time to start involving lawyers when you sell your films. A lawyer will ensure you get the best deal possible. Giving up your film for 10,000 dollars and having it locked up for 5 years is no life. Out of desperation, filmmakers in Nollywood and Ghana are making sad deals. The industry is dying off. But if you involve the legal system, it stands a chance. yeah yeah yeah, lawyers are greedy etc. But there are good ones out there. Distributors in Ghana could come together and pay for a guild attorney who will handle their distribution deals, so can their counterparts in Nigeria. That way, you get the best for your work.
The distributors won't be happy you got a lawyer, but, they have no content without your films. Take a stand.
