The AfricaMagic
Viewers’ Choice Awards is almost here and here is a 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 includes 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 stared 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 stared 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 specialises 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.
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