The AfricaMagic Viewers’ Choice Awards is almost here and here is a look at some of Ghanaians who are up for laurels this year.

Shirley Frimpong Manso: Shirley Frimpong Manso is a Ghanaian movie producer/writer/director emerging as the biggest force to reckon with in terms of quality African movies. She is the Chief Executive Officer of Sparrow Productions and a former radio personality. By far one of the most talented and highly ambitious young women in Ghana today, Shirley seeks to raise the standard of film production in Ghana and Africa by telling progressive African stories as seen through the eyes of Africans. Shirley gave birth to a lovely baby boy in March 2010. Shirley is a graduate of the National Film and Television Institute and attended Mfantsiman Girls Secondary School in the Central Region where she obtained her “A” level certificate. Some of the movies produced by Shirley include ‘Perfect Picture’, ‘Sting In A Tale’, ‘Life And Living It’ and ‘Scorned’.

Yvonne Okoro: Born Yvonne Chinyere Okereke Okoro to a Nigerian father and a Ghanaian mother, she is without doubt, one of the finest actresses around. She is the first child of her mother, and the fifth born of all siblings from both parents. Yvonne attended Achimota Preparatory School, then the Lincoln Community School before enrolling at Mfanstiman Girls Senior High School. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and Linguistics from the University of Ghana, Legon and also studied French Civilisation and Culture as well as Drama and Marketing at the Universite’ De Nantes in France. Since her debut movie eight years ago, she continues to win the heart of movie lovers across the continent. She considers movies not only as a source of entertainment but rather a platform to educate and inform people of the various societal issues that could develop the society. She has featured in several movies including Beyonce, Beyonce 2, The Return Of Beyonce, The Return Of Beyonce 2; The President’s Daughter; The President’s Daughter 2; Play, 4Play Reloaded, Desperate To Survive, The Game, Agony Of Christ, Royal Battle, Queen Of Dreams and ‘Le Hotelier’ a French production.

Jackie Appiah: Jackie Agyemang (maiden name Appiah) was born 5th December 5 1983 and the last of five children. She spent her early childhood in Canada before moving to Ghana with her mother at age 10. Jackie’s rise to fame became after playing the role of Enyonam Blagogee, in the hit series ‘Things We Do For Love’ written by Edward Seddoh Junior. She was later featured in other productions such as ‘Tentacles’, ‘Games People Play’ and many other TV series. After her exceptional performance in ‘Mummy’s Daughter’, a film by Venus Films which chronicles the story of the Bartels Family where she played the role of Princess, the daughter, she became the one of the most sought after. She has been featured in several roles in different movies some of which are ‘The Heart of Men’, ‘Run Baby Run’, ‘Beyoncé – The President Daughter’, ‘The Return of Beyoncé’, ‘Mummy’s Daughter’, ‘The Love Doctor’, ‘Royal Battle’, ‘Princess Tyra’, ‘I Hate Women’, ‘Fake Feelings’, ‘Wind of Love’, and others.

Chris Attoh: Christopher Nii Attoh is a television show host, actor and a master of ceremonies (MC) popularly referred to as Chris Attoh. The multi- talented TV personality has steadily risen into stardom to become one of the finest actors Africa can boost of. Chris describes himself as a young entrepreneur, whose key objective is to continually strive to raise the flag of Ghana high. He started as a National Service personnel at Groove FM then moved to Choice FM and was later poached by Metropolitan TV, popularly known as Metro TV, where he hosted the show dubbed “Links”. He also hosted few episodes of Smash TV and GTV’s then popularly show, “Show Time”. Chris Attoh attended Achimota High School and did his Sixth form at the Accra Academy School. He later went to the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where he read painting before moving to London to study Banking and Security. In London, he presented a show called “One touch” on OBE TV. Aside hosting TV productions: ‘Stars of the Future’ and ‘Rhythms’, Chris has also starred in M- Net’s production, Tinsel, which is the first multi camera soap to be done in West Africa, specifically Nigeria. He starred in Shirley Frimpong – Manso’s ¬‘Life and Living It’, which was his first Ghanaian feature movie, came along. ‘Scorned’, was his second production and was followed by ‘The Perfect Picture’ which broke box office records in Ghana.

Majid Michel: Majid was born in Cantonments, a suburb of the Ghanaian capital Accra. The son of a Lebanese father and a Ghanaian mother, Majid grew up in Accra with his nine siblings. He attended St. Theresa’s Primary School, and later, the Mfantsipim School. In secondary school, Majid was actively involved in theater and was a member of the school’s Drama Club. Majid entered professional acting by chance. He starred in ‘Things We Do for Love’ as “Shaker”, a lover boy. ‘Thing We Do for Love’ became a success and propelled Majid into the mainstream on the strength of his performance. Majid was cast in his first movie ‘Divine Love’ as the male lead, alongside Jackie Appiah as the female lead with Van Vicker in a supporting role. ‘Divine Love’ was a huge success turning Majid Michel into household names across Ghana and the rest of Africa. Majid has starred in several movies including ‘Agony of Chris’, ‘Somewhere in Africa’, ‘Shakira’, ‘The Game’, ‘Bursting Out’, ‘4 Play’, ‘4 Play Reloaded’, ‘A Sting in a Tale’, ‘Silent Scandal’, ‘Passion of the Soul’ and ‘Crime to Christ’.

Herty Owusu:At fourteen, Herty Owusu joined the Nyankonton Theatre Players group, where her acting talent commenced under the tutelage of top actors and late director Efo Kojo Mawubge. She acted in severally stage plays including Ebo Whyte’s Unhappy “Wives Confused Husbands”. She is also a Voiceover Artist for TV3 Network, the presenter and producer of BigBrains. She is passionate about scriptwriting and is the co-writer of Shirley Frimpong Manso “Adams Apples”, followed by “Peep” and then “Contract”. A trained Quantity Surveyor, Herty’s love for filmmaking and theatre has led her to tutor many upcoming actors as a Theatre and Artistic Director.

Ken Attoh: Ken Attoh is a name synonymous with multimedia design, creative photography and cinematography within the Ghanaian creative industry. He is the chief creative director and producer at Sparrow Productions, a film company based in Accra. He is also the co-founder of Illusions, a creative design studio that specializes in motion design and image manipulation for film and broadcast clients In 1997, after a professional course in information systems and management, Ken decided to pursue a career path related to his talent and begun his professional life as a fine art illustrator working for Akroma productions, an advertising agency in Accra. Within three years he had gained enough experience working on various accounts which moved him up the creative ranks to become Art Director, in charge of reputable brands like Castle Milk Stout, and Ghana Telecom to name a few. He became one of Ghana’s most sought after graphic designers and professional photographers. In late 2001 Ken left Ghana to the UK to further his education and also to broaden his exposure within the industry. He studied for a Bachelors degree in Multimedia Arts and also attained a diploma in Digital film making from Middlesex University in London. By 2007 Ken had worked for very diverse companies and among the creative elite in London and some of its smaller towns. He also took on many roles as a freelancer. A few of which were Art Director for Citi Bank, web designer for logic media and creative photographer for high-end image retouching company, TaylorJames. Ken met with Writer/ Film Director, Shirley Frimpong-Manso in 2008. Their professional union encouraged Ken to move back to Ghana. With his experience, he partnered with her and transitioned her events company into a full-blown film production studio. Today ken has worked as creative director and producer for six of Sparrow’s award winning feature films which includes ‘The Perfect Picture’ ‘A Sting In a Tale’ and the ten chapter iconic cinema series ‘Adams Apples’ He is a true believer of form follows function that all things created to perform a particular function should also be presented to attract and appeal through its packaging. He is inspired by the creative energy he shares with his partner.