Filmmaker Akosua Adoma Owusu To Debut Civil Rights-focused Short Film

Having tackled African folklore and European colonialism in her previous projects, award-winning filmmaker Akosua Adoma Owusu has turned her attention to the American Civil Rights movement of the 1950s. Her current project, �Bus Nut,� produced by Obibini Pictures takes a fresh look at a well-known narrative � the 1955 Bus Boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. The boycott was sparked by the simple, but brave, action taken by Rosa Parks, who famously refused to give her seat on a public bus to a white passenger. Parks was subsequently arrested for defying Alabama�s laws regarding segregation. She quickly became a symbol of the civil rights movement, and the bus boycott remained in effect for over 1 year � until the Supreme Court determined that Alabama�s segregation laws were unconstitutional. Owusu�s short film juxtaposes recreated images and the words of Rosa Parks, against an educational video about public school bus safety. Actress MaameYaa Boafo of the hit web series �An African City�, who portrays the �Bus Nut� in the short film, called the effect �powerful� and �jarring.� �I thought it was powerful,� she said, �to portray these two individuals � with words from the trial of why an innocent woman had no reason to leave a bus, and footage of a little girl who dreams of always being in one.� Owusu and TedxAccra speaker/actress Boafo are excited to work together on this film. The two have been friends, and admirers of one another�s work, for years, and are glad their schedules finally aligned. Boafo says it was an honor to finally work with Owusu. �I believe in her vision,� she said. �I believe in her art, and I look forward to many more collaborations.� Currently, �Bus Nut� is competing for awards at the Oberhausen Film Festival in Germany, and at the 58th San Francisco International Film Festival (where Owusu has received her 2nd Golden Gate nomination).