Zinabu

Zinabu is a 1987 Ghanaian film directed by William Akuffo and Richard Quartey.[1]

Plot

Zinabu tells the story of a witch converting to Christianity.[1]

Production

The film was shot in 1985 using a video camera, rather than a film camera. Video was a relatively new medium at the time, but Akuffo recognised the advantage that video footage had over film, as film celluloid was more expensive and presented challenges for distribution. Zinabu became the first Ghanaian movie to be produced on video.[1]

Distribution

During the production of Zinabu, the Ghanaian government introduced a ban on video, in an attempt to curb the negative effect they thought pirated American and Chinese films were having on Ghanaian culture. This ban was lifted in 1987, largely due to the work of Akuffo.[1]

The film received its premiere at the Globe Cinema. The screening was designed to imitate a normal film screening: the video player was not visible to the audience, and Akuffo was in the projection room.[1]

Legacy

Zinabu was the first Ghanaian video feature, beginning a new form of indigenous film production that would grow in the early 1990s. In 1988, two video films were released, but this grew to seven in 1991, and over 50 in 1993.[2] Akuffo also produced three sequels to Zinabu.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Haynes, Jonathan (2010). "What is to be done? Film studies and Nigerian and Ghanaian videos". In Mahir Saul and Ralph A. Austen. Viewing African Cinema in the Twenty-First Century: Art Films and the Nollywood Video Revolution. Ohio University Press. pp. 45–47. ISBN 978-0-8214-1931-1.
  2. ↑ Sutherland-Addy, Esi (2000). "The Ghanaian feature video phenomenon: Thematic concerns and aesthetic resources". In Kofi Anyidoho and James Gibbs. FonTomFrom: Contemporary Ghanaian Literature, Theatre and Film. Rodopi. p. 283. ISBN 90-420-1273-0.
  3. ↑ Ukadike, N. Frank (2003). "Video booms and the manifestations of 'first' cinema in anglophone Africa". In Wimal Dissanayake and Anthony Guneratne. Rethinking Third Cinema. Routledge. p. 222. ISBN 978-1-134-61323-6.
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