DIFF FILMS

FOR THE YEAR 2010

THE NINE MUSES

Winner of Muhr AsiaAfrica / Documentary /Second Prize :John Afomfrah (Director)

Ghana, United Kingdom / 2010 / English dialogue / Colour and Black & White / HDCam SR / 90 mins

Genre: Drama, Experimental, Video Art

Cast & Credits

Director: John Afomfrah
Producer: David Lawson, Lina Gopaul
Scriptwriter: John Afomfrah
Cinematographer: Dewald Aukema
Editor: Mikka Leskinen
Composer: Trevor Mathison

Synopsis

British director John Akomfrah's latest film is a stunning conceptual piece, a richly textured collage of elements arranged into a nine-part 'song cycle' echoing the mythological figures that inspired the title. 'The Nine Muses' is an investigation of mass migration, of the lives of those thousands of African and Asian migrants who entered Britain following World War II. Using Homer's 'The Odyssey' as a narrative foundation, Akomfrah has carefully layered a densely-textured collage using a cornucopia of cultural reference points, ranging from archive film footage, specially-shot set-pieces, texts from Shakespeare and TS Eliot, to Indian and Western classical music. Through this tapestry, the film explores the complex tangle of emotions and feelings experienced by the new Britons, as well as the shape and nature of the society to which they had migrated.

Contains: Adult Themes and References 12+