In the late 2000s, many Ghanaian films were shot quickly on small budgets and sold on DVD in markets. Then a series of films began to appear with sharper picture, stylish locations and stories about professional, middle-class Accra. Many of them came from one company, Sparrow Productions, and one director, Shirley Frimpong-Manso. Her work helped change the look of Ghanaian cinema and drew audiences who had stopped watching local films.
Starting out and Sparrow Productions
Frimpong-Manso worked in advertising and television before moving into film. That background in polished visual storytelling shaped her approach to filmmaking. She founded Sparrow Productions, which produced television series and feature films. The company became known for its consistent production quality and its focus on contemporary urban life. The television series Life and Living It was one of her early successes, following young professionals in Accra. It built a following for her style of storytelling.
Perfect Picture and Potato Potahto
Her 2009 film Perfect Picture, about three women looking for love, became a hit and won awards. It showed that Ghanaian films about relationships and careers could find wide audiences. Adam’s Apples, released as a series of linked films, followed a family and its relationships across several instalments. The format was unusual and kept audiences returning.
The 2017 comedy Potato Potahto, about a divorced couple forced to share a house, was another success. It starred Joselyn Dumas, Chris Attoh and OC Ukeje, among others, and travelled to festivals. Her films helped raise the profiles of actors such as Joselyn Dumas, Majid Michel, Jackie Appiah and Chris Attoh, and she became known for drawing natural performances.
Cinemas and her style
As Accra’s cinemas reopened and multiplied, her films were among those that brought Ghanaian audiences back to the big screen for local productions. Younger Ghanaian filmmakers have cited her as an example of how to build a production company with a distinctive identity. Her films are known for clean cinematography, modern homes and offices, and dialogue that sounds like the way young Accra professionals talk. Viewers could often tell a Sparrow production within the first few minutes.
Shirley Frimpong-Manso made films about Accra people who looked like her audience. That was a simple idea, and for a while it made Ghanaian cinema look new.
