me broni ba (my white baby)
Synopsis
me broni ba (my white baby) is a lyrical portrait of hair salons in Kumasi, Ghana. The tangled legacy of European colonialism is evoked through images of women practicing braiding on discarded white baby dolls from the West. The film unfolds through a series of vignettes set against a child’s story of migration from Ghana to the United States, revealing the meaning behind the Akan term of endearment me broni ba, or “my white baby.”
Ghana, United States, Akan & English
Awards
• Best Documentary Film — Chicago Underground Film Festival
• 2nd Prize, Best Documentary Short — Athens International Film & Video Festival
• Silver Palm Award — Mexico Film Festival
• Special Mention — Real Life Festival
• Top Ten — Artforum, October 2010
Cast & Crew
Director / Cinematographer / Sound Designer: Akosua Adoma Owusu
Editor: Romulo Alejandro
Story by: Adwoa Adu-Gyamfi
Voice Over: Haizel Adofo
Boom Operator: Caroline Jin Key
Sound Designer & Re-recording Mixer: Nathan Ruyle
Selected Screenings
• MoMA Documentary Fortnight (World Premiere)
• Visions du Réel (International Premiere)
• San Francisco International Film Festival
• AFI Silverdocs
• Chicago Underground Film Festival
• BFI London Film Festival
• DOK Leipzig
• International Film Festival Rotterdam
• New York African Film Festival
• Ambulante - Cine Las Americas International Film Festival
• 56th Robert Flaherty Film Seminar