Big Movie on Ghana’s 2008 elections out

It features Nana Akufo-Addo, John Atta Mills, Jerry Rawlings, John Kufuor, Afari-Gyan, Kwesi Pratt, Hannah Tetteh, Rojo Mettle-Nunoo and Kwabena Agyepong, among others, and it has received great reviews across the globe, with the Los Angeles Times describing the documentary feature film as “the gripping examination of Ghana's 2008 presidential contest on display.”

It is a movie, which is likely to reignite the kind of sensation that gripped the nation after the cable releases from Wikileaks.

The film which premiered in London last night is aptly titled, "An African Election".

The 2008 presidential elections in Ghana serve as a backdrop for this feature documentary that looks behind the scenes at the complex political machinery of a third-world democracy struggling to legitimise itself.

The movie portrays how perilously close we got to unleashing electoral violence as it shows footage of young teenagers being trained as militias with wooden guns wearing NDC T-Shirts.

Ghanaians in the UK were rushing for tickets yesterday at the Gate Cinema, Notting Hill Gate, London, where the two directors were ready to take questions after the movie.

Q&A When asked about why Jerry Rawlings was given a lot of air time in the film which came across as one sided this, the director Jarreth Merz said he (Rawlings) was seen as being somewhat of a "sex symbol" in Ghana. By that, Merz meant people idolised Rawlings and would therefore expect to see him featured prominently in a film such as this.

Merz was asked why the NPP were under-represented in the film. Merz's response was to say that he tried to get access and interviews with the NPP but all were busy. He went on to say that the film isn't about the NPP and NDC (in fact all the political parties were featured in the film, including the independents) "the film was made for a broader audience," he said. The most important aspect of the film was to show that "democracy is very fragile and can't be taken for granted" Merz said the film was intended to show a success story - "an example of how Ghana made democracy better by letting the people decide".

Where were the women in politics? Hannah Tetteh featured but she was the only woman interviewed. According to Merz, he wanted to talk to women and attempted to do so but they wouldn't talk, perhaps because they didn't feel comfortable talking to a man.

He (Merz) mentioned that for a long time he had rejected his roots and making the film was like a home-coming.

MEMORABLE QUOTES Mills at a rally: “You are at this rally because you want a government that will bring improvement to your lives.”

Kwabena Agyepong at the EC strong room: “We will not accept the results from Volta”

JJ Rawlings at a rally: “Protect the ballot like you would protect your mother, wife, daughter and sister.”

Synopsis The synopsis reads, “At stake in this election are the fates of two political parties that will do almost anything to win.”

Directors Jarreth and Kevin Merz follow the key players for almost three months to provide an unprecedented insider's view of the political, economic and social forces at work in Ghana.

They build suspense by taking the viewer down the back roads of the nation to capture each unexpected twist and turn in a contest that is always exciting and never predictable. A vivid portrait of the pride and humanity of the larger-than-life politicians, party operatives and citizens who battle for the soul of their country.

When it was first shown in the United States nearly a fortnight ago, the LA Times wrote, “Americans can barely be bothered to vote in our own elections, so why should we care enough about anyone else's to watch the gripping examination of Ghana's 2008 presidential contest on display in "An African Election"?

“That reservation was frankly shared by director Jarreth Merz, who went to Ghana to make a much more personal film and ended up documenting this landmark election because it turned out to be too compelling to turn away from, a judgment viewers are likely to agree with.”

Though he was born in Switzerland, Merz has deep Ghanaian roots on his grandmother's side and spent seven years of his boyhood living in the country. That makes him a perfect combination of insider and outsider, comfortable and well-connected there while retaining the perspective of someone who has made his life elsewhere.

Merz was also in a position to understand why this election was so crucial not only to Ghana but also to the future of representative democracy in Africa and the rest of the former colonial world.

Ghana was the first country in sub-Saharan Africa (in 1957 under Kwame Nkrumah's leadership) to gain its independence. It was also a country where that promise of freedom dissipated as Nkrumah went to one-party rule and ended up overthrown in a coup.

The 2008 presidential contest turned out to be the fifth since multi-party democracy was reintroduced in 1992 after a series of military regimes, an election between the two parties that had taken turns holding that office.

On one side was the New Patriotic Party, the NPP, the organization then in power but represented by a new candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo. Opposing him was professor John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress, the NDC, the party of former ruler Jerry Rawlings, still very popular in the country.

Adding extra importance to the Ghana election was the fact that it took place at a crucial time for Africa, after political turmoil characterized by violence and sectarian strife erupted in Kenya, Zimbabwe, Mauritania and Guinea, among other countries.

No one in Ghana questioned that the best way forward for the country economically was to have a stable, honestly elected government. Still, it was unclear whether Western-style democracy had a future on the African continent.

Making "An African Election" special is the access Merz and cameramen Topher Osborn and Kevin Merz (the director's brother) had to Ghanaian events. The film team had a gift for being where the electoral action was, and for seeing what was transpiring with an astute eye.

These gifts proved especially critical during the tense and combative electoral endgame, which featured harsh confrontations over who won and who lost and whether the inevitable disputes could be settled without violence breaking out in the streets.

Filmmaker Merz proves to be a fine interviewer, talking not only to politicians but also to journalists, commentators and average citizens. What is finally most compelling about this film is the sense it gives of how passionately the citizens of Ghana believe in democracy, how much it means to them.

The film is 89 minutes in length and premiered in London yesterday at the Gate Cinema, Notting Hill Gate, London. The movie continues to premiere throughout the United Kingdom until the 8thof January 2012.