Trailer
SYNOPSIS
Ampe: Leap into the Sky, Black Girl is a documentary film by Ghanaian/Nigerian artists Claudia Owusu and Ife Oluwamuyide. Set in Accra, Ghana and their hometown Columbus, OH, the film is a rhythmic love letter to Black girlhood through the lens of the Ghanaian jumping and clapping game, ampe.
Ampe is a high-energy game played by girls in Ghana, West Africa. It includes jumping, clapping, and an all-around cheer as two teams select a stepping pattern and face off. The teams have leading players, referred to as “mothers'', who start the game and encourage players to compete at their best. The innate joy and competitive edge of ampe reveals the desire that Black girls have to be set free and feel a range of emotions without judgment.
Meet the Team
Director
Ife Oluwamuyide is a Nigerian-American visual artist and filmmaker based in both Columbus, OH and Brooklyn, NY. She is a student at Pratt Institute, studying fine art with a minor in community art and design education. As a black female artist it is important that she writes her own narrative, exploring the complexities and beauty of black womanhood and learning to embrace, love, and cherish each and every aspect of it. Through her work she hopes to provide access to the otherwise exclusive medium of visual art.
Director:
Claudia Owusu is a writer and filmmaker. Her work divulges the nuance of Black girlhood through a personal and collective lens. Her writing has appeared or is forthcoming in the Indianapolis Review, Vogue, Narrative Northwest, Akoroko, and Brittle Paper. Her films have screened internationally at Aesthetica, the New York African Film Festival, Urbanworld, and Blackstar Fest. She was shortlisted for the 2023 Bernadine Evaristo Prize in African Poetry; and she is currently an MFA candidate in Creative Nonfiction at The Ohio State University.
Martha
Subjects
Norkor
Nives
Samuella
Production Team
Executive Produced by
Claudia Owusu
Michelle Zei
Directed by
Claudia Owusu
Ife Oluwamuyide
Story by
Claudia Owusu
Written by
Claudia Owusu
& Ife Oluwamuyide
Cinematography
Daniel Attoh (Accra)
Charles Fatunbi (Columbus)
CREW
Executive Producer
Claudia Owusu
Michelle Zei
Associate Producers
Ife Oluwamuyide
Chineze Okpalaoka
Producers
Christine Boateng &
Khalid Iddisah (Accra)
Juli Sasaki (Columbus)
Claudia Owusu
Directors
Claudia Owusu
Ife Oluwamuyide
Written by
Claudia Owusu
Ife Oluwamuyide
Additional Writing by
Chineze Okpalaoka
Cinematographers
Daniel Attoh (Accra)
Charles Fatunbi (Columbus)
Extra Broll Cinematographer
Kwame Spiffy (Columbus)
Casting Director -
Columbus & Accra
Claudia Owusu
1st Assistant Camera/ Focus Puller
Derrick Brown Bruce (Accra)
Grace Becker (Columbus)
2nd Assistant Camera
Aaron Wilson (Columbus)
Sound Recordist
Stanley Martei Armah (Accra)
Megan Lucas (Columbus)
Lighting
Ibrahim Yakubu (Accra)
Grace Becker (Columbus)
Assistant Lighting
Joshua Fusseni (Accra)
Set Photographers
Julius Tornyi (Accra)
Janel Ronay (Columbus)
Set Design & Styling:
Yasmin Iddriss (Accra)
Hanardy Iddriss (Accra)
Joseph Abbey Mensah (Accra)
Claudia Owusu (Columbus)
Catering:
Lantaseema (Accra)
Production Manager / Logistics
Koryn Naylor (Columbus)
Production Assistants
Channiah Whipple (Columbus)
Janel Ronay (Columbus)
Aaron Wilson (Columbus)
POST-PRODUCTION
Editor
Kwesi Botchway
Colorist
Tytanium
Sound Design & Mixing
Kwesi Botchway
Sound score
Obed Otchere
Vocals
The Late Mary Teiko “Mai” Okletey and Stephen Sackitey Biko Okletey
Soundtrack
G.O.D (Good Ole Days) by Quayba
Poster design & Graphics
Abike Studio
Animation
Norbert Fosu
CAST BY CITY:
Columbus, Ohio:
Main Cast:
Martha Nyarko
Nives Quaye
Supporting Cast:
Edwina Amagnoh
Ildico Osei Twerefuor
Michelle Afful
Priscilla Adu
Ruth Ankrah
Samantha Ofori
Extras:
Nana Afia Yeboah
Selma Ennin
Michelle Larbi
Nicole Welsh
Lovelis Danso
Jaiden W. Gyamfi
Emmanuella Oppong
Melody Viassy
Paula Quartey
Patricia Quartey
Petra Quartey
Paige Caldwell
Mariama Ba
Sagal Handulle
Bethel Hanson
Matilda Achirem
Priscilla Afful
Jessica Boadu
Latifat Sulaimon
Diewo Camara
CAST BY CITY:
Accra, Ghana:
Main Cast:
Norkor Nortey
Samuella Graham
Supporting Cast:
Joyce Mahama (WOSPAG)
Agnes Abefeh (WOSPAG)
Margaret Addai (Alpha Beta School)
Nayram Amega (Alpha Beta School)
Adom Ahemaa (Alpha Beta School)
Maureen Hagan-Seglah (Alpha Beta School)
Sarah Naa Dedei Ammah-Tagoe
Mary Addis-Ababa Ackwerh
Nilla Marie Hansen-Thompson
Extras:
Ama Benewaa Tuffet
Maame Araba Baboa Opoku
Stephane Nadia Tetteh
Nana Serwaa Fosu
Benedicta Asamoah
Queenly Abbey
Afia Yeboah
Gloria Agyare
Nuerki Nortey
Maame Adwoa Amissah Quayson
Vida Gyasi
Maame Serwaa Amoateng Benso (Aburi)
Afreyea (Aburi)
Akuba (Aburi)
Addae (Aburi)
Tano (Aburi)
Antobam (Aburi)
Ekuwa (Aburi)
Patience Foli
Jacqueline Dede Foli
Pauline Foli
Adom Beauty Salon (Osu)
Pokua Owusu
