Elsie Obeng-Kwakye, a young writer and filmmaker from Ghana, is urging important players in the creative sector to provide more assistance to up-and-coming artists who want to have a big impact on the world through their work.
She made the request while seeing the recent British Council in Accra’s screening of her most recent documentary, Unexpected, which was produced by her Elsie Produktion house.
Unexpected explores the lives of four adolescent girls, one of whom became a mother at the young age of 14 and has eleven children.
On the same day, Sir, another documentary that focused on the displacement of children in James Town when their homes along the coastline and its environs were demolished in 2020, also had its premiere.
In an interview with Graphic Showbiz, Ms. Obeng-Kwakye stated that the nation’s creative scene is home to gifted people who have the potential to advance the field but are constrained by a lack of funding and venues on which to display their works.
“There are a lot of talented up and coming filmmakers who can contribute a great deal to the growth of our industry but they don’t have the financial muscle to do so, and as a result, they waste away,” she said.
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She said that giving aspiring filmmakers access to a strong support network could help them feel more confident in the creative industry.
“I believe with the necessary support, be it financial or seasoned filmmakers sharing their platforms with younger ones, it will go a long way to help build their confidence in the space to allow them to thrive,” she affirmed.
Ms. Obeng-Kwakye is well-known for her socially conscious works; her book Unexpected explores the complex network of variables that lead to adolescent pregnancies as well as the challenges that teenage moms encounter.
Ms. Obeng-Kwakye thinks the documentary will act as a catalyst for fixing these urgent challenges in addition to highlighting the causes of teenage pregnancy.
“I want to use my platform to tackle more social issues. I am committed to extending my efforts beyond the current project, as there are additional social issues that I aspire to address.
“Building on the insights gained from Unexpected and Sir, my focus is now shifting to the creation of another documentary that aims at touching on the exploitation of children in fishing activities”, she told Graphic Showbiz.
