M3NSA — Forward
Irène Donati, Bondzie Mensa Ansah
This video is presented as part of the free Pop-up programming from March 16 to 26, 2022 from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm in the Tudor Hall at Holt Renfrew Ogilvy.
Shot in Dansoman, a neighbourhood in Accra, Ghana, which has birthed many music artists developing their craft over the years.
The protagonist, M3NSA, walks out from No1 Mango Street, the address he grew up in and the title of his first acclaimed and MOBO nominated album. The reference is already enough to give an apt and symbolic meaning to the visual for a song called Forward. The neighbourhood of Dansoman is not one we see in recently celebrated campaigns portraying Ghana as a fashionable city. Once residential and green, the community has been exploited, and it’s hardly recognisable to M3NSA. The cinematography of the short film places the story in an undefined time in history, and the colours we experience are not the typical ones we are exposed to when in Accra. It’s a surreal journey where the artist sees reality differently from us. He keeps walking and encounters weird scenes and characters, with someone following him and observing, inviting us to keep going forward in a walk towards self-discovery in an ever-changing environment.
Shot in Dansoman, a neighbourhood in Accra, Ghana, which has birthed many music artists developing their craft over the years.
The protagonist, M3NSA, walks out from No1 Mango Street, the address he grew up in and the title of his first acclaimed and MOBO nominated album. The reference is already enough to give an apt and symbolic meaning to the visual for a song called Forward. The neighbourhood of Dansoman is not one we see in recently celebrated campaigns portraying Ghana as a fashionable city. Once residential and green, the community has been exploited, and it’s hardly recognisable to M3NSA. The cinematography of the short film places the story in an undefined time in history, and the colours we experience are not the typical ones we are exposed to when in Accra. It’s a surreal journey where the artist sees reality differently from us. He keeps walking and encounters weird scenes and characters, with someone following him and observing, inviting us to keep going forward in a walk towards self-discovery in an ever-changing environment.
| Director | Irène Donati, Bondzie Mensa Ansah, Bondzie Mensa Ansah |
| Script | Bondzie Mensa Ansah, Irène Donati |
| Production | Mawuli Akpabi |
| Production Manager | Percy Osei Appiah |
| Editing | Bondzie Mensa Ansah, Ivan Ayitey, Irène Donati |
| Camera | Odartey Aryee |
| Colorization | Ivan Ayitey |
Philip Nkansah Boakye
Image tirée du film Forward // Image from the film Forward
Image tirée du film Forward // Image from the film Forward
Production
Irène Donati
Irene Donati has been instrumental in the creative development of many Ghanaian artists since moving to Ghana in 2013 to further pursue her career in Advertising. The Forward music video is her directorial debut. With M3NSA she was able to express her understanding of visual language. She co-produces and co-writes videos and content with M3NSA. Together they have also ideated and produced the documentary a‑Live, awarded the PRS Open Fund for Music Creators, currently in post-production.
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
Bondzie Mensa Ansah
M3NSA is a British Ghanaian musician, producer and video-maker. In 2010 M3NSA co-wrote, co-produced and starred in what we call today a Visual Album, the first musical in Pidgin English Coz Ov Moni, followed by Coz Ov Moni 2 in 2013 creating a cult following for both films, and the band FOKN Bois. This changed the trajectory of M3NSA’s creative expression, making him an active part of the visual developments of all his music videos and content. In 2018 he directed the video for Switch On featured in the documentary Contradict, an important piece of storytelling about the contradiction in the narratives about the African Continent. He co-directed and co-produced all the music videos for his band FOKN Bois and his new release BONDZIE.
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
Biographical notes provided by the film production team
Selected productions:
Switch on (2018)
Coz Ov Moni (2013)
Coz Ov Moni 2 (2013)
Pull Your Strings
I No De Bed
Switch on (2018)
Coz Ov Moni (2013)
Coz Ov Moni 2 (2013)
Pull Your Strings
I No De Bed
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