Misplaced Pages

George Amponsah

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
British director of documentary films (born 1968) For the Ghanaian politician, see George William Amponsah.
George Amponsah
BornGeorge Bernard Amponsah
1968 (age 56–57)
London, England
NationalityBritish
OccupationFilm director
Notable workThe Hard Stop (2015);
Gassed Up
Websitewww.gafilms.co.uk

George Bernard Amponsah (born 1968 in Roehampton) is a British film director, who is most notable for his documentaries. His 2015 feature-length documentary film, The Hard Stop, about the death of Mark Duggan, won a 2017 BAFTA nomination for the Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer. In 2023, Amponsah completed direction of his first drama feature, Gassed Up – described by The Guardian as "A Scorsese-like thrill ride" – which had a UK nationwide cinema release in February 2024, and subsequently played on the Amazon Prime streaming platform.


Biography

Born and raised in London, England, Amponsah is of Ghanaian parentage. He started taking photographs and working with Super 8mm film in the 1980s. In 1989, he attended the University of East London, and a post-graduate film won him a scholarship to take the directing course at the National Film and Television School (NFTS). Since graduating in 2000 from the NFTS, he has taught documentary filmmaking there and at the Met Film School. He continued to work as a tutor with young people, while making short films for the web and developing new feature films.

His 2004 BBC documentary The Importance of Being Elegant was about Congolese singer Papa Wemba. The Fighting Spirit (2007) followed three young boxers in Ghana.

His 2015 feature-length documentary The Hard Stop, about the death of Mark Duggan, was nominated in 2017 for a BAFTA in the category "Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer", and for two British Independent Film Awards: Best Documentary and Breakthrough Producer.

Amponsah's debut drama feature film, Gassed Up, was announced for launch on Amazon Prime Video in 2023. Gassed Up – which tells the story of a London youth who gets mixed up with a rampaging gang of moped thieves – was described in The Guardian as "A Scorsese-like thrill ride", having a UK nationwide cinema release in February 2024 and subsequently playing on Amazon Prime.

Documentaries

  • First steps, 1998.
  • The Importance of Being Elegant, 2004.
  • The Fighting Spirit, 2007.
  • Bruised to Be Used, 2008.
  • One Plus One, 2008.
  • Diaspora Calling, 2011.
  • The Hard Stop, 2015.
  • Dope, 2018.
  • Black Power: A British Story of Resistance, 2021.
  • Gassed Up, 2024

References

  1. "Baftas 2017: Full list of winners". BBC News. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  2. ^ Khomami, Nadia (5 February 2024). "Interview | 'I wanted to find the humanity in kids seen as scumbags': George Amponsah on his Scorsese-style thriller". The Guardian.
  3. ^ "Gassed Up Wins Audience Award for Best Feature, and Sells Out BFI London Film Festival, Post by OnSight". Post Super. Retrieved 3 August 2024.
  4. ^ "George Amponsah talks directing and new BBC doc 'Black Power': executive produced by Steve McQueen". alt-africa.com. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  5. ^ "George Amponsah". African Film Festival New York. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  6. Ritman, Alex (21 October 2016). "British Independent Film Awards 2016: The Debut Directors Long List". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  7. Photiou, Andrea (11 January 2017). "Mark Duggan Documentary Is Nominated For A BAFTA". The Voice.
  8. Grater, Tom (5 February 2017). "Baftas 2017: How Mark Duggan doc 'The Hard Stop' became a contender". Screen Daily.
  9. "LCC alumna Dionne Walker nominated for a BAFTA Film Award and two British Independent Film Awards for 'The Hard Stop'". UAL. 7 February 2017.
  10. "Graduate Profile: Dionne Walker". Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  11. Ravindran, Manori (20 July 2022). "Amazon Prime Video Greenlights U.K. Action Thriller 'Gassed Up' From 'Hard Stop' Director George Amponsah (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  12. Feay, Suzi (19 March 2021). "'Black Power' brings a vital slice of British social history to BBC2". Financial Times. Retrieved 1 April 2021.

External links

Categories: