Interview Special: Anthony Nti; ‘Da Yie (Good Night)

Film-maker Anthony Nti focuses on the dangers facing a pair of Ghana-based children when they take a drive into the unknown in the acclaimed short DA YIE (GOOD NIGHT).

Film And TV Now spoke with the film-maker about his work.

FILM AND TV NOW: The film is reflective of the danger that kids in Ghana face amidst the social conflicts. What was the start-off point for the short?

ANTHONY NTI: A lot of the scenes in the movie were inspired by memories of my childhood in Ghana.

For instance, the moment where one of the main characters runs away from home after dodging his mom’s slaps, avoiding punishment, is something that happened to me and something I remember quite vividly. I wanted the audience to experience a day in the life of the kid in the immediate aftermath.

What do you do while you wait for your mom to calm down a bit? This became the starting point for a road trip full of excitement and danger. I wanted to weave themes of peer pressure and the innocence of children into a story that felt universal.

FTVN: Tell us about your cast.

AN: My previous short film, Kwaku, which had its premiere at Clermont Ferrand in 2014, was also filmed in Ghana, where I used local kids for the main roles. I have learned a lot from the experience and wanted to continue this process. To add a little mixture, I wanted a professional actor to join the cast, Goua Grovogui (The Resurrection of a Bastard). This proved a good mix of authenticity and professionalism.

Another interesting thing to note is that we actually wrote the film for two boys, however, during the casting process we came upon young Matilda who immediately won us over. She was supposed to play a young version of me, but she was even better than me. She could rap, she could act and she had so much charisma. She was perfect for the role, without us even having to change anything in the script.

The interaction between the trio of the kids and the Bogah lies at the heart of what the film is about. We fall in love with these kids, we don’t want them to come into danger, but we learn to love the Bogah as well. The tension that exists in the story is the merit of their chemistry as actors. They were able to take us into this adventure and they were the ones that made this film work.

FTVN: Tell us about your production team.

AN: The crew of Da Yie was a mix of Belgian talent and my family members from Ghana.

My father was the line producer and I was really able to count on him to make the shoot run smoothly. I really struck gold working with PJ Claessens who understood how the film should look and feel like and put in the effort. Everybody had to pull double duty during the shoot, we really helped each other out with the lights and the camera assistance.

In between the shoot, we played with Matilda and Prince, who ran around the set. We felt a bit like their parents, having to take care of them throughout. We really became a small family.

FTVN: How long did it take to shoot and how did you raise finance?

AN: The entire production of the film felt like an impossibility for us at first. We had no idea whether we’d find the money.

At some point, we just decided to buy the plane tickets, thereby setting a goal and a deadline for ourselves. We took it upon ourselves to find the necessary resources by the time we were supposed to leave. We did a lot of commercial work, set money aside, bit by bit, so when the time came, miraculously, we were able to gather enough to shoot.

In Ghana, we only had a month to do everything. The first three weeks were spent scouting, doing prep and revising the screenplay. By the time we reached the end of the month, we flew in some crew members from Belgium and started shooting. We shot with very few breaks. We even shot the day we had to fly back to Belgium.

The last day was spent packing up and going straight to the airport. We were in such a rush, but we were able to get everything we needed.

FTVN: Did you rehearse much with the child actors before and during shooting?

AN: Just before the shoot, we spent some time getting to know Prince and Matilda. This further influenced and informed us in the writing process. Together with Goua, we did some workshops and acting sessions and we even did a preliminary shoot.

Just to get the kids accustomed to playing to the camera. However, the kids were so smart, they didn’t require any hand-holding. We only had to do minimal rehearsals during the shoot. They understood the story, they understood blocking and the nature of cinema acting. 

FTVN: Tell us about the beautiful beach area where the man and the two children go to.

AN: Originally I wanted to shoot it in Labadi beach which was the first beach that I ever saw as a kid in Ghana. But Labadi beach was a bit too busy and more difficult to control with the small crew we had.

My cousin who also plays in the film, suggested Kokrobite, a fisherman town 30min from Accra, where we had family members living. We went on a location scout and it reminded me of my first time, it was so magical. Because we had family there, we could get enough people to make it controllable as it is dangerous shooting at sea.

So the Kokrobite beach became our location for that scene. We wanted to have sunset in the scene but because we couldn’t shoot till very late and the dawn in Kokrobite made it possible for us to fake dawn for sunset. I was super impressed by how fast the kids understood we were faking morning for evening.

FTVN: What issues and themes would you most like to explore in future works?

AN: I’ve always been attracted to ‘outsiders’, because I’ve always been considered as such. I felt, when those kinds of stories are being told, people only focus on the dark parts. But there is more in life than only sadness. Finding a voice and developing a style that shows the joy, the strength and beauty in people’s lives, despite their misery and hardships became very important for me. This is something I would love to carry forward to my future work.

FTVN: We noticed an England football shirt with Wayne Rooney on the back. How important is football in the local community where you shot?

AN: Very important. Ghana is a football country. The National Team has produced great players like Abédi Pelé, Gyan, Essien, Ayews,…. During the World Cup of 2010 Ghana made it to the quarter-finals, losing to Uruguay due to a handball from Suarez, something we will never forget.

As Ghana used to be a former colony of Great Britain the premiere league is very popular there. Also when Nigeria played against Ghana, it was always an interesting energy. In our film we even feature a match between Ghana and Nigeria. 

FTVN: What were the key things you learned and how did living in Belgium influence your work?

AN: I lived in Ghana, where storytelling is part of our culture, my grandma used to tell me Anansi stories as a kid and I think that influenced my storytelling.

My technical knowledge and craft of film-making is something I developed during my studies at Ritcs in Brussels where I met most of my crew members who worked on Da Yie. I think both nurtured in me a certain affinity for small-scale, character-driven stories.

I’ve always been attracted to this idea of finding something universal in stories that are very specific and Belgium with its wealth of cultures and a creative community has inspired me to move beyond myself, to try to find commonalities with other people.

Film-making is about empathy and understanding, and that’s what drives me to tell stories. 

FTVN: Tell us a bit more about some of the other locations you filmed in and what logistical challenges did you face shooting in them?

AN: We shot mostly in Accra, Madina. I lived there till my 10th, and have gone back a few times. A lot of my family members live in Madina, so that made the logistics very easy. Because my family almost knew everyone from the neighborhood it made shooting on location go smooth.

Some locations took a bit longer to completely control than others but we had a firm handle on the schedule. My dad was the line producer, together with my cousin and uncle, he was responsible for the day-to-day activities. The school, where we had found Prince and Matilda, helped us a lot as well. We’ve been able to 

FTVN: Would you like to expand on the ideas represented in this short into a more feature-length storyline?

AN: It’s something we have thought about but due to budget reasons we kept it to a short film. We would love to explore the story of the Bogah in a feature film. Who is he? Why did he get to the point in the short film where he puts his life at risk to do the right thing? I find that aspect of the story so fascinating.

FTVN: Would you like to use this as a point of reference to educate local children on the dangers inherent in talking to strangers and the consequences of their actions?

AN: I want the audience to be aware of how the innocence of children can come in danger when confronted with the adult world. But it was also important for me as a film-maker to create a cinematic experience despite the heavy thematics. It’s not a film to point fingers or to scare. It’s also important to not see things as black and white, but to be open to different perspectives too. 

FTVN: How has COVID-19 affected your development and evolution as a film-maker?

AN: Normally I was supposed to travel a lot, because of the festival selections, so that didn’t happen. But I took that opportunity to write and do research with Chingiz Karibekov for our first feature ‘Postcard’.

I would have loved to shoot more this year, but unfortunately that seems harder and harder to do. But for now, we keep busy with writing and developing projects and most importantly gather energy.

FTVN: Finally, what are you most proud of about this short film?

AN: When people say that they were really scared and anxious for the lives of the kids in the film, worrying about them, I always smile a bit. It was a big challenge to get the tension right, so that always feels like an accomplishment.

I’m also very proud of my team, the film came to life because of them. With a tiny budget, with a small crew, some Ghanaian locals and my family, we were able to make Da Yie feel huge. It felt like it had so much production value.

I’m also very proud of the young actors, who really stole the show. Being able to share this story and show their talent to the world, gives me hope. I’m happy the film resonates with such a wide audience and I hope it will keep travelling.