Director Shirley Frimpong-Manso is an award-winning Ghanaian director and CEO of Sparrow Productions alongside Ken Attoh. Their latest offering, Potato Potahto, is a vibrant, African romantic-comedy featuring Nigerian film actor, OC Ukeje (Tony) and Ghanaian actress, Joselyn Dumas (Lulu).
The film is set in Ghana which Frimpong-Manso says informed her choices in look and feel as well as cinematography: “I wanted a happy setting – colourful and alive – the costumes, music, locations, lighting and cinematography all embodied this look and feel,” she says.
Potato Potahto was shot in just two weeks on the Sony FS7 camera, which Frimpong-Manso says was selected for its high resolution images with good colour renditions. “We shot in 4k. This was important because I wanted the pictures crisp and enduring. Lighting, sound and the general tone had to be the same. Even though the topic of the film is divorce, I was determined the look and feel would have the opposite effect. So I went in for a yellowish hue depicting sunshine and promise. The set itself had to be alive so we chose one that had a story to tell on its own.”
Potato Potahto is a collaborative project between Swedish, French, British, Nigerian and Ghanaian film producers, with the aim of establishing global markets. “There is strength in numbers. You get different expertise coming together to work on one project which gives it legs for other opportunities,” affirms Frimpong-Manso.
