John Akomfrah

human
Ein sex anaa gender	male
Country wey e be citizen	United Kingdom
Name wey dem give am	John
Ein date of birth	4 May 1957
Place dem born am	Accra
Languages edey speak, rep anaa sign	English
Field for work	film direction, film screenwriting
Educate for	University of Portsmouth, Goldsmiths, University of London
Residence	London
Ethnic group	African Americans
Participant insyd	Tabakalera
Award e receive	Officer of the Order of the British Empire, Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Dema official website	http://www.smokingdogsfilms.com
Represented by	Lisson Gallery
Related category	Category:Films directed by John Akomfrah
Copyright status as creator	works protected by copyrights

Sir John Akomfrah (dem born am for 4th May, 1957)^[1] be a Ghanaian-born British artist, writer, film director, screenwriter, theorist den curator of Ghanaian descent, wey ein "commitment to a radicalism both of politics den of cinematic form finds expression insyd all ein films".^[2]

A founder of de Black Audio Film Collective insyd 1982, he make ein début as a director plus Handsworth Songs (1986), wich examine de fallout from de 1985 Handsworth riots.^[3] Handsworth Songs go on to win de Grierson Award for Best Documentary insyd 1987.^[4]

Plus Lina Gopaul den David Lawson, ein long-term producing partners, Akomfrah co-found Smoking Dogs Films insyd 1998.

Insyd de words of The Guardian, he "dey secure a reputation as one of de UK ein most pioneering film-makers [whose] poetic works dey grapple plus race, identity den post-colonial attitudes for over three decades."^[5] Insyd de 2023 New Year Honours, he be de recipient of a knighthood for recognition of ein services to de Arts.^[6]

Dem choose Akomfrah make he represent Britain at de Venice Biennale insyd 2024.^[7]

Early life den education

Na dem born John Akomfrah insyd Accra, Dominion of Ghana, to parents wey na dem be involved plus anti-colonial activism. Insyd an interview plus Sukhdev Sandhu, Akomfrah say: "Na my poppie be a member of de cabinet of Kwame Nkrumah ein party.... We lef Ghana secof na my mummie ein life dey insyd danger after de coup of 1966, wey na my poppie die for part secof de struggle wey lead up to de coup."^[2] Dis struggle dey go insyd ties plus de imbalance of ein identity wey he dey express insyd ein "Conversations with Noise" wey na ebe part of de Five Murmurations (2021). Na dem educate Akomfrah insyd British schools since around de age of 8. Ein excellence as a student lead am make he showcase dis struggle plus dis imbalance between Britain ein colonization den ein identity.

Filmography

Handsworth Songs (1986); winner of Grierson Award for Best Documentary, 1987
Testament (1988)
Who Needs a Heart (1991)
Seven Songs for Malcolm X (1993)
The Last Angel of History (1996)
Memory Room 451 (1996)
Call of Mist (1998)
Speak Like a Child (1998)
Riot (1999)
The Nine Muses (2010)
Hauntologies (Carroll/Fletcher Gallery, 2012)
The Stuart Hall Project (2013), wey dey relate to de cultural theorist Stuart Hall
The Unfinished Conversation (2013)^[8]^[9]
The March (2013)
Vertigo Sea (2015)
Auto Da Fé (2016)
Untitled (2016)
The Airport (2016)
Tropikos (2016)
Purple (2017)
Precarity (2018)^[10]
Five Murmurations (2021)^[11]
Arcadia (2023)

References

↑ "British Film Institute ScreenOnline biography".
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Sandhu, Sukhdev (20 January 2012). "John Akomfrah: migration and memory"". The Guardian.
↑ Childs, Peter; Storry, Mike, eds. (2002). "Akomfrah, John". Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture. London: Routledge. pp. 18–19.
↑ The Grierson Trust. Archived 25 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
↑ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (7 January 2016). "John Akomfrah: 'I haven't destroyed this country. There's no reason other immigrants would'". The Guardian.
↑ "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N2.
↑ Adams, Tim (7 April 2024). "Interview'Another layer of pigment needed adding to the canvas': artist John Akomfrah on changing the narrative, from Windrush to colonialism". The Observer.
↑ "John Akomfrah – The Unfinished Conversation" at Autograph ABP.
↑ Oppon, William (15 January 2014), "The Unfinished Conversation - An Exhibition By John Akomfrah, OBE", Urban Times, 15 January 2014. Archived 1 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ "John Akomfrah: Precarity" at Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University (29 March–2 September 2018).
↑ Fullerton, Elizabeth (1 September 2021). "An Artist Who Brings Order to Chaos". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2023.

External links

Official website
John Akomfrah at IMDb
"John Akomfrah" at Lisson Gallery.
"John Akomfrah" in conversation with Elisabetta Fabrizi at Tyneside Cinema.

[screenonline.org.uk-1] "British Film Institute ScreenOnline biography".

[Sandhu-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Sandhu, Sukhdev (20 January 2012). "John Akomfrah: migration and memory"". The Guardian.

[3] Childs, Peter; Storry, Mike, eds. (2002). "Akomfrah, John". Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture. London: Routledge. pp. 18–19.

[4] The Grierson Trust. Archived 25 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine

[5] Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (7 January 2016). "John Akomfrah: 'I haven't destroyed this country. There's no reason other immigrants would'". The Guardian.

[Gazette-6] "No. 63918". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2022. p. N2.

[Observer-7] Adams, Tim (7 April 2024). "Interview'Another layer of pigment needed adding to the canvas': artist John Akomfrah on changing the narrative, from Windrush to colonialism". The Observer.

[8] "John Akomfrah – The Unfinished Conversation" at Autograph ABP.

[9] Oppon, William (15 January 2014), "The Unfinished Conversation - An Exhibition By John Akomfrah, OBE", Urban Times, 15 January 2014. Archived 1 January 2015 at the Wayback Machine.

[10] "John Akomfrah: Precarity" at Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University (29 March–2 September 2018).

[11] Fullerton, Elizabeth (1 September 2021). "An Artist Who Brings Order to Chaos". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 20 October 2023.

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