''The Boy Kumasenu'' is a 1952 feature film made in
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
by a British film crew. It was produced and directed by
Sean Graham
Sean Graham (born March 6, 1980) is a retired track runner who specialized in middle-distance and long-distance disciplines. Graham was a product of Stillwater High, whose coach Scott Christensen helped make a nationally recognized track history ...
from a script by Graham and John Wyllie. The score was by
Elisabeth Lutyens
Agnes Elisabeth Lutyens, CBE (9 July 190614 April 1983) was an English composer.
Early life and education
Elisabeth Lutyens was born in London on 9 July 1906. She was one of the five children of Lady Emily Bulwer-Lytton (1874–1964), a me ...
.
The movie became popular and had an impact on the social live of the people. It displayed signs of future potentials which made it become associated with anti colonialism and social change in the newly emerging independence Ghana.
Production
''The Boy Kumasenu'' was the first feature film made by the Gold Coast Film Unit, which sought to produce both educational and informative films for distribution in Ghana and abroad.
[ The director was Sean Graham, who was a student of documentarist ]John Grierson
John Grierson (26 April 1898 – 19 February 1972) was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. In 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" in a review of Robert J. Fla ...
, though Graham preferred to work more in the idioms of popular cinema.[ Musician ]Guy Warren
Guy Warren of Ghana, also known as Kofi Ghanaba (4 May 1923 – 22 December 2008), was a Ghanaian musician, best known as the inventor of Afro-jazz — "the reuniting of African-American jazz with its African roots" — and as a member of The T ...
was one of the actors, playing the role of Yeboah.
It was filmed in 1950 and 1951 in Accra
Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
, Kedze and Keta
Keta is a coastal town in the Volta Region of Ghana. It is the capital of the Keta Municipal District.
Keta was an important trading post between the 14th and the late 20th centuries. The town attracted the interest of the Danish, because they f ...
, with a non-professional cast, and edited in London. It was premiered in Ghana in 1952 but the makers had trouble getting it distributed in Ghana, due to a belief that Africans preferred escapist films. However, it subsequently proved very popular.[ It was awarded a diploma by the ]Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...
and had its British premiere at the 1952 Edinburgh Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
; it was also shown at the 1953 Berlin Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...
.[ It was nominated for a ]British Academy Film Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
for best film in 1953.[
]
Plot
The film tells the story of a boy called Kumasenu who moves to the city of Accra
Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...
from a small fishing village, encouraged by his cousin Agboh's exaggerated tales of the wonders of city life. Hungry, he steals bread and is caught by police, but is rescued by a doctor and his wife, who find him work. Agboh attempts to get Kumasenu to rob the doctor, but Kumasenu foils his cousin's plans.
Critical reaction
''Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' praised it as "amazingly well done film fare" and suggested it could be an arthouse success.[ ''West African Review'' considered it dramatised an important issue facing African, and showed the ability of African leadership to solve Africa's problems.][ ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was less impressed, finding it "vague and sentimental" though praising it as a starting point for African cinema.][
]
References
Further reading
External links
"The Boy Kumasenu (1952)"
at IMDb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boy Kumasenu
1952 films
Films scored by Elisabeth Lutyens
Ghanaian black-and-white films
Ghanaian drama films
1952 drama films