Hawa Essuman Explained

Hawa Essuman
Birth Date:23 January 1980
Birth Place:Hamburg, Germany
Known For:Silas, Soul Boy
Awards:Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award (2018) and the Audience Award for best documentary at the Riverrun Film Festival (2018).
Yearsactive:2008 - Present
Nationality:Ghanaian-German
Citizenship:Kenyan

Hawa Essuman (born 1980) is a film director based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her 2017 feature-length documentary Silas, co-directed with Anjali Neyar, tells the story of Liberian environmental activist Silas Siakor's fight to preserve the country's rainforests from commercial logging. The film won multiple awards, including the Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award (2018) and the Audience Award for best documentary at the RiverRun International Film Festival (2018). Hawa's first feature film, Soul Boy (2010), also received a series of awards.[1] [2] In addition, Hawa has produced a range of TV programmes, commercial films, music videos and adverts.

Biography

Born in Hamburg, Germany, on 23 January 1980, she is the daughter of Ghanaian parents who brought her up in Nairobi, Kenya.[3] [1] After several appearances in the theatre, she moved into production work, first on television commercials and documentaries, then on a local drama series, Makutano Junction. She created and directed Selfish? in 2008, followed by three short films in 2008, The Lift, Cold War and Coming Out.[2]

With the encouragement and assistance of Tom Tykwer, she directed Soul Boy (2010). Based on a story by Billy Kahora, it originated at a workshop organized by the German association One Fine Day.[4] Presented at over 40 film festivals around the world, it won a number of awards.[2]

Awards

Essuman's Silas has won the following awards:

Essuman's Soul Boy has won the following awards:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hawa Essuman. Filmportal.de. 6 February 2016 . German.
  2. Web site: About the director. African Film Festival New York. 6 February 2016 .
  3. Web site: Liff awards 2011. limbo7.com. 6 February 2016 .
  4. Web site: Hawa Essuman and the Soul Boy Project . 28 August 2010. African Women in Cinema Blog. 10 February 2016 .
  5. Web site: Silas . Riverrun Film Festival . 2021-07-19 . 2023-02-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230202171950/https://riverrunfilm.com/film/silas/ . dead .
  6. Web site: ZIFF 2018 - OFFICIAL SELECTION . Zanzibar International Film Festival.
  7. Web site: Warszawski Festiwal Filmowy.
  8. Web site: Silas (William W. Warner Award Winner) . Environmental Film Festival .
  9. Web site: 2010 Winners. Signis Award . ziff.or.tz . 30 January 2024 . Zanzibar International Film Festival . https://web.archive.org/web/20100825172511/http://www.ziff.or.tz/2010/winners . 2010-08-25 . 2010-08-25.
  10. Web site: Kalasha 2010 Winners . www.kalashaawards.co.ke . 2018-04-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121122003025/http://www.kalashaawards.co.ke/nominees.html . 2012-11-22 . dead.
  11. http://www.kifftrust.org/awards2010.php Kenya International Film Festival: Best Actor
  12. http://www.kifftrust.org/awards2010.php Kenya International Film Festival: Best East African Film
  13. Web site: Programm 2011 . Kirchliches Filmfestival Recklinghausen . www.kirchliches-filmfestival.de . de . 2024-01-30 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170315234900/http://www.kirchliches-filmfestival.de/programm/index_2011.html . 2017-03-15. . No mention of the prize here.
  14. http://www.ama-awards.com/amaa-nominees-and-winners-2011 Best Editor, African Movie Academy Awards