The AfricaMagic Viewers’ Choice Awards is almost here and here is a look at some of Ghanaians who are up for laurels this year.
Shirley Frimpong Manso: Shirley Frimpong Manso is a
Ghanaian movie producer/writer/director emerging as the biggest force to
reckon with in terms of quality African movies. She is the Chief
Executive Officer of Sparrow Productions and a former radio personality.
By far one of the most talented and highly ambitious young women in
Ghana today, Shirley seeks to raise the standard of film production in
Ghana and Africa by telling progressive African stories as seen through
the eyes of Africans. Shirley gave birth to a lovely baby boy in March
2010. Shirley is a graduate of the National Film and Television
Institute and attended Mfantsiman Girls Secondary School in the Central
Region where she obtained her “A” level certificate. Some of the movies
produced by Shirley include ‘Perfect Picture’, ‘Sting In A Tale’, ‘Life
And Living It’ and ‘Scorned’.
Yvonne Okoro: Born Yvonne Chinyere Okereke Okoro to a
Nigerian father and a Ghanaian mother, she is without doubt, one of the
finest actresses around. She is the first child of her mother, and the
fifth born of all siblings from both parents. Yvonne attended Achimota
Preparatory School, then the Lincoln Community School before enrolling
at Mfanstiman Girls Senior High School. She has a Bachelor of Arts
Degree in English and Linguistics from the University of Ghana, Legon
and also studied French Civilisation and Culture as well as Drama and
Marketing at the Universite’ De Nantes in France. Since her debut movie
eight years ago, she continues to win the heart of movie lovers across
the continent. She considers movies not only as a source of
entertainment but rather a platform to educate and inform people of the
various societal issues that could develop the society. She has featured
in several movies including Beyonce, Beyonce 2, The Return Of Beyonce,
The Return Of Beyonce 2; The President’s Daughter; The President’s
Daughter 2; Play, 4Play Reloaded, Desperate To Survive, The Game, Agony
Of Christ, Royal Battle, Queen Of Dreams and ‘Le Hotelier’ a French
production.
Jackie Appiah: Jackie Agyemang (maiden name Appiah)
was born 5th December 5 1983 and the last of five children. She spent
her early childhood in Canada before moving to Ghana with her mother at
age 10. Jackie’s rise to fame became after playing the role of Enyonam
Blagogee, in the hit series ‘Things We Do For Love’ written by Edward
Seddoh Junior. She was later featured in other productions such as
‘Tentacles’, ‘Games People Play’ and many other TV series. After her
exceptional performance in ‘Mummy’s Daughter’, a film by Venus Films
which chronicles the story of the Bartels Family where she played the
role of Princess, the daughter, she became the one of the most sought
after. She has been featured in several roles in different movies some
of which are ‘The Heart of Men’, ‘Run Baby Run’, ‘Beyoncé – The
President Daughter’, ‘The Return of Beyoncé’, ‘Mummy’s Daughter’, ‘The
Love Doctor’, ‘Royal Battle’, ‘Princess Tyra’, ‘I Hate Women’, ‘Fake
Feelings’, ‘Wind of Love’, and others.
Chris Attoh: Christopher Nii Attoh is a television
show host, actor and a master of ceremonies (MC) popularly referred to
as Chris Attoh. The multi- talented TV personality has steadily risen
into stardom to become one of the finest actors Africa can boost of.
Chris describes himself as a young entrepreneur, whose key objective is
to continually strive to raise the flag of Ghana high. He started as a
National Service personnel at Groove FM then moved to Choice FM and was
later poached by Metropolitan TV, popularly known as Metro TV, where he
hosted the show dubbed “Links”. He also hosted few episodes of Smash TV
and GTV’s then popularly show, “Show Time”. Chris Attoh attended
Achimota High School and did his Sixth form at the Accra Academy School.
He later went to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
where he read painting before moving to London to study Banking and
Security. In London, he presented a show called “One touch” on OBE TV.
Aside hosting TV productions: ‘Stars of the Future’ and ‘Rhythms’, Chris
has also starred in M- Net’s production, Tinsel, which is the first
multi camera soap to be done in West Africa, specifically Nigeria. He
starred in Shirley Frimpong – Manso’s ¬‘Life and Living It’, which was
his first Ghanaian feature movie, came along. ‘Scorned’, was his second
production and was followed by ‘The Perfect Picture’ which broke box
office records in Ghana.
Majid Michel: Majid was born in Cantonments, a suburb
of the Ghanaian capital Accra. The son of a Lebanese father and a
Ghanaian mother, Majid grew up in Accra with his nine siblings. He
attended St. Theresa’s Primary School, and later, the Mfantsipim School.
In secondary school, Majid was actively involved in theater and was a
member of the school’s Drama Club. Majid entered professional acting by
chance. He starred in ‘Things We Do for Love’ as “Shaker”, a lover boy.
‘Thing We Do for Love’ became a success and propelled Majid into the
mainstream on the strength of his performance. Majid was cast in his
first movie ‘Divine Love’ as the male lead, alongside Jackie Appiah as
the female lead with Van Vicker in a supporting role. ‘Divine Love’ was a
huge success turning Majid Michel into household names across Ghana and
the rest of Africa. Majid has starred in several movies including
‘Agony of Chris’, ‘Somewhere in Africa’, ‘Shakira’, ‘The Game’,
‘Bursting Out’, ‘4 Play’, ‘4 Play Reloaded’, ‘A Sting in a Tale’,
‘Silent Scandal’, ‘Passion of the Soul’ and ‘Crime to Christ’.
Herty Owusu:At fourteen, Herty Owusu joined the
Nyankonton Theatre Players group, where her acting talent commenced
under the tutelage of top actors and late director Efo Kojo Mawubge. She
acted in severally stage plays including Ebo Whyte’s Unhappy “Wives
Confused Husbands”. She is also a Voiceover Artist for TV3 Network, the
presenter and producer of BigBrains. She is passionate about
scriptwriting and is the co-writer of Shirley Frimpong Manso “Adams
Apples”, followed by “Peep” and then “Contract”. A trained Quantity
Surveyor, Herty’s love for filmmaking and theatre has led her to tutor
many upcoming actors as a Theatre and Artistic Director.
Ken Attoh: Ken Attoh is a name synonymous with
multimedia design, creative photography and cinematography within the
Ghanaian creative industry. He is the chief creative director and
producer at Sparrow Productions, a film company based in Accra. He is
also the co-founder of Illusions, a creative design studio that
specializes in motion design and image manipulation for film and
broadcast clients In 1997, after a professional course in information
systems and management, Ken decided to pursue a career path related to
his talent and begun his professional life as a fine art illustrator
working for Akroma productions, an advertising agency in Accra. Within
three years he had gained enough experience working on various accounts
which moved him up the creative ranks to become Art Director, in charge
of reputable brands like Castle Milk Stout, and Ghana Telecom to name a
few. He became one of Ghana’s most sought after graphic designers and
professional photographers. In late 2001 Ken left Ghana to the UK to
further his education and also to broaden his exposure within the
industry. He studied for a Bachelors degree in Multimedia Arts and also
attained a diploma in Digital film making from Middlesex University in
London. By 2007 Ken had worked for very diverse companies and among the
creative elite in London and some of its smaller towns. He also took on
many roles as a freelancer. A few of which were Art Director for Citi
Bank, web designer for logic media and creative photographer for
high-end image retouching company, TaylorJames. Ken met with Writer/
Film Director, Shirley Frimpong-Manso in 2008. Their professional union
encouraged Ken to move back to Ghana. With his experience, he partnered
with her and transitioned her events company into a full-blown film
production studio. Today ken has worked as creative director and
producer for six of Sparrow’s award winning feature films which includes
‘The Perfect Picture’ ‘A Sting In a Tale’ and the ten chapter iconic
cinema series ‘Adams Apples’ He is a true believer of form follows
function that all things created to perform a particular function should
also be presented to attract and appeal through its packaging. He is
inspired by the creative energy he shares with his partner.
