
6th March 1957 is a symbolic moment in the history of a small country formerly called the Gold Coast. Preceding this date accounts very important events that led to the independence and sovereignty of this small country that is now called Ghana.
After 62years of independence, coincidentally, a repetition of the day which was also a Tuesday, the eve of Ghana’s independence, 5th March 1957, a book titled “The Making of Kwame Nkrumah” was officially launched in 2019.
The book launch event attracted both young and the old alike. Sections of the audience were personalities from the corporate industry, academia, and film industry including the media. Personalities such as Kwesi Pratt: Manager of the Insight Newspaper, Akilagpa Sawyerr: Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Mr Yaw Firempong Boakye, film director and Lecturer at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) and Baffour Kwabena Senkyire who was part of Nkrumah’s government were all present.
The book launch was a success. The message of the young author, calling for support and investment in making great movies about great African personalities like Nkrumah received encouraging applause from the audience. The book is a must read. Isaac Arko Inkum, the author is confident that the reason why the book was written will be achieved and in the coming years, his dream of producing the first ever movie on the life of Dr Kwame Nkrumah will be a reality. “This book is not the end in itself. It is a means to an end. It is the beginning of things not yet seen. And I’m confident this movie will be made” Inkum stated.
On 5th March 1957, Princess Marina, representing the Queen of England, Vice President Nixon of America, President Ben Ali of Tunisia, civil rights leader, Dr Martin Luther King and his wife, Coretta Scott King, dignitaries from Russia to the Vatican had visited Ghana because something magnificent was happening. At the centre of it was Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of Ghana. He had led the country to independence. It was a Tuesday and the voice of the first black leader of the first sub Saharan African country to gain independence spewed these words, “Ghana, your beloved country is free forever.”
Sixty two years have elapsed after Ghana’s independence; a remarkable historic experience on the calendar of the nation’s history. Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s success of leading Ghana to independence inspired not just Ghanaians and Africans but Black people all over the world. People are asking whether the Nkrumah story has been captured as a movie for people to watch. The search for the answer led a great multitude to British Council on 5th March, 2019 to attend the launch of the book.
The author of the book, Isaac Arko Inkum in his speech highlighted why there has to be a movie on the life of Dr Kwame Nkrumah. He has been working painstakingly with colleagues of his in the past seven years to produce a movie on the First President of Ghana. “If Americans can do a movie about President Lincoln and India can do a movie about Mahatma Ghandi, Ghanaians can also do a movie about Nkrumah to inspire the world.” Inkum passionately addressed the audience who had graced the occasion. The book carefully chronicles the experience of seven young people who decided to dedicate their time to do research, develop content, all in the effort to produce the first ever movie on Nkrumah. The challenges of filmmaking and the determination in embarking on such a gargantuan project make the book an interesting narrative.
The book captures two different stories. It provides detailed information about how the research on the Nkrumah personality was done. It also shares the entrepreneurial experience of seven young people who after completing tertiary education decided to work together to pursue a dream. Some of the personalities captured in the book are, Mr Baffour Kwabena Senkyire, a former Minister for Cooperatives in Nkrumah’s government, Samia Nkrumah, Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s daughter, Mr Kwesi Pratt, Manager of the Insight Newspaper, Mr Kwaw Ansah, one of Africa’s finest filmmakers, Rev Chris Hessy, Nkrumah’s personal cameraman, Professor Aaron Mike Ocquaye, Speaker of Ghana’s Parliament and his Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo Addo, President of Ghana. There is a list of about fifty people in the book. These are some of the personalities the author and his colleagues consulted in carrying out their research on Nkrumah.
Ghana’s film industry has been somehow challenged as a result of the lack of good movies. The industry has not been able to attract the investment it needs to develop talents and produce great local content. Many are of the view that Ghanaian filmmakers do not invest in research to develop good content which is local but can travel international. There were times that the Ghanaian film industry was doing well because the stories which churned out were properly written and the scripts were carefully drafted. The art of script writing entails a lot, especially when you want to produce an award winning movie. It requires attention to details and research. However, recent movies which have been produced in Ghana do not meet standards. Albeit some Ghanaian filmmakers are doing well in terms of the movies they produce, a handful of them have lowered the standards, giving way to mediocrity and cheapened the art of filmmaking. Ghana has rich stories from which we can develop good content to make great movies. That is exactly what Isaac Arko Inkum and his colleagues have been working on for the past seven years.

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