John Akomfrah
| John Akomfrah | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957 Accra, Ghana |
| Occupation | Film director |
| Years active | 1986 – present |
John Akomfrah OBE (born 1957) is an English film director and screenwriter. He has directed 14 films since 1986. He made his debut with Handsworth Songs, which examined the fallout from the Handsworth riots.[1]
He was born in Accra and brought up in London.[2] Akomfrah was educated at schools in West London and at Portsmouth Polytechnic, where he graduated in Sociology in 1982.
He is best known as one of the founders of the Black Audio Film Collective, which was active between 1982 and 1998, and which was dedicated towards examining issues of Black British identity through film and media.[2]
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours.[3] He is currently laureate of the European Cultural Foundation's Princess Margriet Award (presented in March 2012).
[edit] Selected filmography
- Handsworth Songs (1986)
- Testament (1988)
- Who Needs a Heart (1991)
- Seven Songs for Malcolm X (1993)
- Call of Mist (1998)
- Speak Like a Child (1998)
- Riot (1999)
- The Nine Muses (2010)
[edit] References
- ^ Childs, Peter; Storry, Mike, eds. (2002). "Akomfrah, John". Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture. London: Routledge. pp. 18–19.
- ^ a b "British Film Institute ScreenOnline biography". http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/467761/.
- ^ "Full list of New Years' Honours". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/pdfs/29_12_07_hons_queen.pdf.
[edit] External links
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