If you have followed the career of Blitz the Ambassador, you would notice two patterns: consistency and passion. From album launches to electrical performances, he is one of the few artists to have managed to stay true to his core and owned his narrative. On December 1, 2018, he will be premiering his first film, The Burial of Kojo, in Accra, Ghana, where it was shot.
“I chose to shoot the film in Ghana because it’s important to show that we can produce high quality magical realism films in Africa,” he remarks.
This genre of narrative fiction began in the 21st century as a response to the 20th century artistic movement, realism, which idealized reality with exaggerated visual elements. Magical realism moves away from inflexible principles of realism.
In 2014, IMDB listed 40 films that have gotten magical realism right where the romance film Winter’s Tale failed, and among them was the highly acclaimed successful 2006 Mexican/Spanish dark fantasy drama film, Pan’s Labyrinth.
The Burial of Kojo, which follows the story of Esi as she narrates her childhood and the explosive relationship between her father, Kojo and her uncle, Kwabena, was produced and directed in a way that raises the standard in African cinema. We’re thrown into Esi’s strange dreams, through magical realist lenses, where she recalls the unfortunate accident caused by Kojo which killed Kwabena’s bride on their wedding day. Kwabena, who is still resentful after seven years, plots a revenge which kills Kojo in a mine. Esi’s dreams will now have to lead her to her father, after an unsuccessful attempt by police to arrest Kojo. But the question is, “Will she be too late?”
The film, directed and written by Blitz the Ambassador, made its world premiere at the Urban World Film Festival in the United States in September and won Best Narrative Feature (World Cinema). It has since premiered in sold out screenings in Brazil and London. Ghana is coming up next and it will be showing at the Siverbird Cinema at Accra Mall and Westhills Mall.
Visit the film’s page to learn more.