Originally scheduled for a December 2010 theatrical release, the hilarious Ghanaian family
comedy Masquerades will now hit the cinemas this festive season.
Producers Zedec Entertainment say this “feel good’ film is specifically positioned as a
Christmas movie. “For this reason we wanted to premiere it before Christmas 2010 as it
made good marketing sense to do so. However, we were assigned a release date of 30
December, which created many limitations for us. Since the film is specific to the festive
season our only option was to postpone it to Christmas 2011,’ says Abiba Nelson of
Zedec Entertainment.
The 70-minute comedy is based on a story by Ghana’s leading duo of filmmakers –
Lydia Forson and Habiba Nelson – with the screenplay by David Ammah (Razer). It was
directed by Xavier Arijs from Belgium and shot in and around Accra, Ghana’s capital city.
Masquerades explores contemporary family life and mirrors Ghanaian society. All the
characters in the film undergo a journey to rediscover the true meaning of Christmas in
an untraditional way.
After several years apart, a family is drawn home by a tragedy – their uncle is recently
deceased and they are charged with the responsibility of burying him. As funeral
expenses pile up, each member of the family is determined to maintain a lifestyle that
demonstrates how rich they claim to be. However, underneath the facade is a
dysfunctional family that struggles to keep up appearances. As the story unfolds it is
revealed that everyone has something to hide.
A series of hilarious events leading up to the funeral and Christmas uncover all the
family secrets. In the clash of egos, each family member is forced to confront their true
identity.
Masquerades demonstrates the value and importance of family. The underlying message
of the film is to be true to oneself and to enjoy the simple things in life.
All star cast
The cast comprises the creme de la creme of Ghana’s top actors including Desmond
Elliot (Ghana Movie Awards (GMA) Nominee), Adjetey Anang (AMAA Winner, GMA
Nominee), Lydia Forson (AMAA Winner, GMA Nominee), Senanu Gbedawo (GMA
Nominee), and Ebenezer “Katawere’ Donkor (GMA Nominee). The only non-Ghanaian is
Nigerian Desmond Elliot.
“I loved working with the cast and crew – they made the whole filmmaking experience
wonderful,’ says Nelson. “We are the first company to bring together in one movie the
vernacular and English speaking film industries in Ghana. This has never been done
before. Everything about this movie is original and I am very happy about that,’ says
Nelson.
Masquerades was funded by Ghana’s rLG Communications, one of Africa’s leading
mobile phone manufacturers.
