�Love Brewed In Africa Pot� Comic Book Launched

Past and present Ministers of State, former Mayors, medical practitioners, high-profile educationists, filmmakers, writers, television producers, book publishers and others all came to support what they deemed an historical step in the development of the visual arts in this country. The occasion was the launch of the 146-page comic book based on Kwaw Ansah�s 35-year-old Love Brewed in the African Pot movie. Those present who might not have already seen the film saw excerpts from it. Two young singers, Kof-I and She, also did a beautiful rendition of the Aba theme song from the film. Some of the cast, including Anima Misa-Amoah, Mary Yirenkyi and Kojo Dadson, as well as a few members of the technical crew, were also present and were introduced to guests. A minute�s silence was observed for people who participated in the making of the film but had since died. After testimonies of how wonderfully the film did not only in Ghana but in other places such as Kenya, United States, Zimbabwe and India, the book was launched by emcee, KSM. Kafui Dey is always a good speaker and he auctioned the first five copies of the book, which came in packages containing the Love Brewed film and some of Ansah�s more recent productions, for GH�13,500. The idea to produce a comic book version of the film, according to Kwaw Ansah, occurred to him about three years ago. He was, however, hesitant to proceed because he didn�t know of an illustrator good enough for what he had in mind. His son later introduced him to Peter �Poka� Asamoah, a young illustrator just out of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and he did a good job. Among the speakers at the book launch was Prof. Linus Abraham, Rector of the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI). He made the important point that storytellers should always be aware of the various platforms available to tell a single story. He suggested to Kwaw Ansah to consider producing a television series out of Love Brewed or putting it out as a stage play. The NAFTI Rector also urged the Ministry of Education to acquire copies of the book for students in Junior High and Senior High Schools as a way of encouraging reading among young people.