Ghanaian actress Fella Makafui has earned a role in Season 2 of Nigerian Netflix series ‘Anikulapo’.
According to the National Film Authority of Ghana which engineered this move, they set out on a mission to collaborate with sister African countries as a path to opening doors for Ghanaian talents on the world stage.
In a Facebook post, the film authority wrote that they “are pleased to announce that beautiful and hardworking Fella Makafui will be introduced as a main character entering this groundbreaking Nigerian ‘African’ masterpiece in the second season, green-lighted by Netflix to show in over 191 countries under our #ShootInGhana agenda, even as we work to position Ghana as a shooting destination and as well, work on the market place with the cinema agenda and enabling other platforms.”
They also expressed their gratitude to Kunle Afolayan, the producer and director of the series for working with the authority on this agenda.
“The story delves into pre-colonial time and Fella learned to speak the Yoruba language from scratch what dedication to the craft,” the post further reveals.
Earlier in June 2024, it was announced that a part of the Season 2 of Nigerian movie, ‘Anikulapo’ would be filmed in Ghana, filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has announced.
Afolayan made this announcement at the recent Nigeria International Film and TV Summit (NIFS) held in Cannes, France with various film industry gurus and media personalities in attendance.
This is in tandem with the National Film Authority’s, ‘Shoot in Ghana’ initiative.
The Executive Secretary of Ghana’s National Film Authority, Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante who brokered the deal in France, was at the Summit when the announcement was made.
“This is an important development. The shooting of parts of ‘Anikulapo’, in Ghana is a good opportunity to revive and enhance the film relationship between Ghana and Nigeria. Both countries stand to gain greatly from collaborating deeply and exploring each other’s markets and strengths,” she said.
Kunle Afolayan is also committed to training; and his film school, KAP Academy, has trained over 10,000 students in Nigeria and other parts of the continent.
His announcement implied that, many Ghanaians, even those outside the film industry would be employed and skills will be transferred during the shoot. ‘Anikulapo’, is a Netflix original film and television series.
Juliet is encouraging filmmakers around the world to consider Ghana as a shooting location.
Ghana’s shoot in Ghana campaign was launched two years ago and has seen many groundbreaking successes, including the much talked about Super Bowl advert which was shot in the country(Ghana), and many more that haven’t been announced yet.
Currently, the second edition of another National Film Authority initiative, the Africa Cinema Summit is underway at the Movenpick Hotel in Accra.
The four-day summit which started on October 7, 2024, will end on Thursday, October 10, 2024.
The 2024 programme focuses on growth in quality of local content production and consumption driving the case for increased cinema investment.
The first edition of the event drew various filmmakers from 20 African countries to Ghana for varied conversations on growing cinema on the continent.
This year’s edition has gotten even bigger with more progressive conversations on how to further consolidate the progress made in the African cinema industry, fostering collaboration, innovation, and sustainable growth.
It has drawn, from across the globe, film buffs such as English actor of Ghanaian descent, Idris Elba, who headlined the opening of this year’s event.
As part of the activities for the 2024 edition of the summit, there shall be a Legacy Award ceremony on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, at the Movempick Hotel.
The Africa Cinema Summit, organized by the National Film Authority, is in partnership with Filmhouse Group (Nigeria), Silverbird Cinema (Ghana), Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria, Century Cinemax (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda), and Canal Olympia, among others.
Source: Kwame Dadzie
