Ghanaian director Leila Djansi received top honors at the Pan African Film Festival for her latest flick “I Sing of A Well.”
A prolific filmmaker, her directorial credit includes Chandler Hospital’s documentary, “Heath Matters,” “Hands Across Africa,” Sci-Fi Channel’s “Most Haunted Places on Earth,” and the award-winning film “Grass Between My Lips.”
At the 19th Annual Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) held in Los Angeles, Djansi was presented with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts 2011 Pan African Festival Choice Prize for her movie “I Sing of A Well.”
The prize, which is 100 DVD’s of the film was presented to Djansi by BAFTA Los Angeles board members Katy Haber and David L. Simon.
Djansi, a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, who has an academic background in Film & Television, and cultural anthropology, has chosen to tell stories about life, survival, and the delicate intricacies of culture. It’s her strong passion for groundbreaking film-making that led her to establish the Turning Point Film Fund, a Ghanaian program set-up to fund productions primarily about women, children, and issues affecting African society as a whole.
“I am very honored to receive this prize, which I accept not only for me, but for producer Akofa Ejeani Asiedu, cast, and crew,” said Djansi. “I am so appreciative to BAFTA Los Angeles and PAFF, because this was a way for me to tell the history of Ghana through art,” Djansi continues, “I feel it is only fitting for me to donate some of the prize DVDs to schools and universities libraries. Hopefully, it will be used to educate students about our history as told by a Ghanaian.”
Echoing Djansi’s sentiment Haber adds, “The British Academy Los Angeles is also delighted to learn that she will be distributing some of the DVD’s to schools, universities and libraries in Ghana as a means of sharing Ghana’s history with the younger generation of her country.”
BAFTA/LA is the only Anglo-American professional organization founded to promote and advance original work in film, television and interactive media, while serving as the bridge between the Hollywood and British production and entertainment business communities.
The Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) was founded in 1992 as a non-profit corporation dedicated to the promotion of ethnic and racial respect and tolerance through the exhibit of films, art and creative expression.
The goal of PAFF is to present and showcase the broad spectrum of Black creative works, particularly those that reinforce positive images, help to destroy negative stereotypes and depict an expanded vision of the Black experience.
Past PAFF features have included box office and award-winning hits: “Ray,” “Lackawanna Blues,” “Redemption” and Academy Award® winner for Best Foreign Film, “Tsotsi.”
