For her performance in the graduation film »O Chale« from the ifs Internationale Filmschule Köln, Atika Jumaih Bashiru was awarded the Förderpreis Neues Deutsches Kino for Best Acting Performance at the Filmfest München (28 June – 7 July).
The prize, worth 10,000 euros and sponsored by DZ Bank AG, Bavaria Film, and Bayerischer Rundfunk, was accepted on her behalf by producer Julius Nerlich.
In the docufiction »O Chale« (Director, Concept/Script: Jan Hendrik Lübbers; Producer: Julius Nerlich; DoP: Jonas Thibaut; Editing & Sound Design: Hannes Gabelmann), funded by the Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, four friends navigate the challenges of growing up amid the hectic streets of Ghana’s capital, Accra: Uncertain plans for the future, complicated father-son relationships, traditional gender roles, and the fear of losing their innocent childhood shape their lives. The basketball court becomes the ideal place to playfully escape the daily grind.
The film was shot in Ghana with a cast of non-professional actors. The film crew received on-site support from the community initiative DUNK (Developing Unity Nurturing Knowledge) and the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) in Accra.