Pascal Amanfo

Pascal Amanfo is a Nigerian film director, based primarily in the Ghana film industry. Quotes I would say the most defining moment of my journey was having the very rare opportunity as a budding writer to do screenplays for Nollywood legends like Charles Inojie, Ikechukwu Onyeka, Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen, Paul Obazele, Emeka Rollas. Those formative years shaped me and greatly impacted my ideology of film and storytelling. Another would be daring to step out and take on the burden of my directorial debut in 2008 with the movie My Last Wedding starring Emeka Ike and Jackie Appiah produced by Uche Mbunabo. It was a make-or-break season of my career. Some felt I wasn’t ready but I knew I was! A lot has changed! But….It’s been largely a “forced” evolution in many regards. Most of it has come about as a result of trying to keep the industry afloat in the midst of biting economic problems. From hastily put together productions in choky service apartments to movies now shot in two or three days, it’s all a rat race to try and break even. We have found ourselves wrestling with a host of very fundamental and age-long structural problems that leave the producer trying to make the most with the least. No blame! He or she must either beat them, join them, or possibly japa as many have done. On the flip side, the resurgence of cinema has given the industry something to clap about but even that has its nail-biting intricacies! We see figures being tossed about in catchy “sold-out” headlines, but the reality is the question that many won’t want to answer! How much really does the producer take home? In all, Nollywood has greatly changed. It’s now a more open industry with a more competitive edge and a bit more flair for technical quality. Perhaps, it can only get better from here. Nigeria and Ghana share a lot in common across all facets of life. And when it comes to the arts and filmmaking there has always been that “marriage” between both industries. Actors have sojourned across the border on both ends and to a large extent the relationship remains cordial. It is no news, however, that Nigeria takes a massive lead in the size and structure of our film industry and a lot more can be achieved by a deliberate and well-thought-out collaboration especially when it comes to distribution. Ghana is serene and offers a host of very beautiful film locations with a steady power supply as a major incentive. Nigeria on the other hand boasts of a robust manpower and a depth of filmmaking expertise forged over the years by our very dynamic and self-formulated approach to filmmaking. The fusion of both could be sheer gold. Living in Ghana wasn’t really deliberate. I was making periodic trips to Ghana to do screenplays for a few Ghanaian producers back in 2007 and it just played out that there was such a demand for my scripts that they started urging me to stay back. My stays became extended on each occasion and before I knew it, I was spending more time in Ghana than in Nigeria. At some point and in conversation with myself, there was no logical reason why I shouldn’t become a legal resident. My faith and rededication to God changed everything. I soon realised that the career was only a pedestal for the calling. I now see everything through the lens and filter of Faith. When a filmmaker says this, many often think he suddenly wants to be making what they oddly term “church movies”. But the goal for me, like I always say, is not to have Jesus mentioned in every line in a movie, but to tell constructive stories that impact life, inspire hope, and give a God-breathed perspective on humanity. Every story well told has or finds its audience. But here’s what I believe, the average Nigerian has an unbreakable leaning towards God. He may not be in church every Sunday but he or she either by upbringing or choice has that God seed planted in them. As much as our so-called GenZ folks might want to argue, it is part of who we are as a people. Seven or eight out of 10 of us heard our mothers’ reeling voices at dawn praying. We cannot take faith out of the Nigerian context. It now borders on the filmmaker to find innovative ways to tell what might be a simple faith story and trigger that already existing appeal. I chose YouTube because I wanted it to have a reach far beyond the four walls of a cinema. I wanted its message to seep into mechanic workshops, roadside salons, food kiosks, and shops. It is a film made for the common man believing God for the next meal and its message must reach its audience.