Amartei Armar made history in 2022 when his short film Tsutsue became the first Ghanaian film to screen in competition at the Cannes Film Festival
The Ghanaian-US filmmaker is ready to unveil his debut feature Vagabonds, now in post-production, with an expected completion date of May 2026, at this year’s Atlas Workshops in Marrakech.
Vagabonds, which was inspired by the director’s 2019 short film of the same name, is an ode to the resilience of contemporary Ghanaian youths. It tells the story of orphaned cousins Owusu and Adobea, who embark on a road trip to Accra where Owusu’s birth mother lives. There, they are adopted by a group of street kids who teach them how to survive.
It is the latest film from A.K.A Entertainment, the company co-founded by Armar and Ghanaian film producer Yemoh Ike. Co-producing is Sébastien Hussenot of French outfit La Luna Productions, who was also a partner on Tsutsue.
The film is an homage to the country where his father was born and where he moved to from the US in 2016 at the age of 25. “It’s a sort of autobiographical story of me trying to navigate my own cultural identity and trying to find my roots in Ghana,” Armar explains.
Children
Working with children did not faze Armar. Twelve-year-old Dorothy Adobea Tandon, who plays Adobea, starred in Armar’s 2023 short Yaa. “She’s incredible, we worked with her on the short film when she was eight years old. She’s magnetic,” says Armar. “I’ve been working with [18-year-old] Idrissu Tontie Jr, who plays Owusu since he was 10.”
Tontie Jr also starred in the original short on which the feature is based.
“Ever since I came to Ghana, I’ve used non-professional actors,” says Armar. “It allows us to play more naturally. [We] played games where the actors would sit across from each other and would read each other’s reactions, [as well as] exercises of mimicry of concentration. A lot of it is trust. We went on hikes together, we shared stories and went through what our hopes and dreams are, to build this level of trust — and that camaraderie translates in their performances.”
Leap of faith
Vagabonds started shooting in May 2024 with only half of its budget secured. “We started with $50,000 and thought, let’s just go and film something and put it together. From there, we were able to piece together this film over a year,” says Armar.
Armar and producer Ike are now in Marrakech looking for distribution, a sales agent and “inspiring encounters”, as well as an additional €250,000 to complete Vagabonds.
“The biggest challenge of making my first feature has been financing,” Armar reflects. “You get a lot of support from labs but you could be stuck in that cycle, developing for a long time.”
No comments yet