There Is More In Life Than Only Sadness: Anthony Nti & Chingiz Karibekov On "Da Yie"
Ghanaian filmmaker Anthony Nti and Kazakhstani writer-producer Chingiz Karibekov met while studying film in Brussels. At school, the two quickly bonded over their outsider outlook on life/film and formed a long-lasting creative partnership that continues to produce interesting work that brings a variety of cultures to light. Their latest effort, Da Yie, is an intense day trip in sunny Ghana that endangers the innocence of two kids.
Young Matilda and Prince are taken on a life-changing trip by a stranger. Kids, gangsters and Ghana's coast as you've never seen them.
The film has garnered four Oscar-qualifying Grand Prize (Leuven Short Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand, Indy Short International Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival) amongst its 25 awards and 140 high profile film festivals selections. We had the pleasure of chatting with Anthony and Chingiz about their films, its origins, filming in Ghana, and much much more!
How did the concept for Da Yie originate?
A lot of the scenes in the movie were inspired by memories of my childhood in Ghana. For instance, the moment where one of the main characters runs away from home after dodging his mom's slaps, avoiding punishment, is something that happened to me and something I remember quite vividly. I wanted the audience to experience a day in the life of the kid in the immediate aftermath. What do you do while you wait for your mom to calm down a bit? This became the starting point for a road trip full of excitement and danger. I wanted to weave themes of peer pressure and the innocence of children into a story that felt universal.
The two of you first met while studying film in Brussels, and since then you’ve forged a strong relationship. What was it about the other that drew you together and created such a fruitful and long-long-lasting partnership?
Before we met in film school in Brussels, we grew up, worlds apart, in two different countries: Kazakhstan and Ghana. But at school, we immediately connected with the kind of stories we wanted to tell and how. We started working together and made a few short films.
We’ve always been attracted to ‘outsiders,’ because we’ve always been considered as such. We felt, when those kinds of stories are being told, people only focus on the dark parts. But there is more in life than only sadness. Finding a voice and developing a style where we show the joy, the strength and beauty in people’s lives, despite their misery and hardships became very important for us.
Anthony, you were born in Ghana, which is where the film was shot. What was it like returning home to shoot this project? Chingiz, what was it like seeing Anthony’s native region and supporting him through the shoot?
Anthony: I think because I was born in Ghana, having lived there for 10 years, a lot of the scenes were things I encountered before, so it felt very natural for me to direct the story. Every location or place has it’s own pace and rhythm. That’s what I wanted to illustrate visually. I saw the camera as a curious kid (me) taking us on a journey. Visiting all those locations really brought me back. I think the authenticity comes from the fact that as a storyteller I took the audience on a personal journey.
Chingiz: It was an amazing experience to witness this story come to life. Everything we talked about and envisioned became true. Also being the producer and co-writer, I had the chance to be very close to the process from the beginning. Seeing all the locations Anthony had in mind and visiting his family made me very happy and excited to see him direct it. As a producer, I tried to make everything go as smooth as possible with the little we had, without losing the quality, and I think the team succeeded at that.
The film brought together both the Ghanaian diaspora and the local community, which much have been a gratifying experience. Can you talk a bit about the feeling on set and the experience of filming this project
The crew of Da Yie was a mix of Belgian talent and my family members from Ghana. My father was the line producer and I was really able to count on him to make the shoot run smoothly. I really struck gold working with PJ Claessens who understood how the film should look and feel like and put in the effort. Everybody had to pull double duty during the shoot, we really helped each other out with the lights and the camera assistance. In between the shoot, we played with Matilda and Prince, who ran around the set. We felt a bit like their parents, having to take care of them throughout. We really became a small family.
The film really hinges on the performance of its two young leads, who both knock it out of the park with their charm. How did you find them, and what was it like preparing them for their roles?
Just before the shoot, we spent some time getting to know Prince and Matilda. This further influenced and informed us in the writing process. Together with Goua [Robert Grovogui], we did some workshops and acting sessions and we even did a preliminary shoot. Just to get the kids accustomed to playing to the camera. However, the kids were so smart, they didn’t require any hand-holding. We only had to do minimal rehearsals during the shoot. They understood the story, they understood blocking and the nature of cinema acting.
I really love the film’s title and how it takes on this double meaning within the context of the short. Can you talk about its dual meaning and how you landed on that title for the piece?
“Da Yie”, which is Twi for “good night”, carries a double meaning in our film. First, it’s a universal way of saying goodbye before bedtime. These are the last words exchanged between the main characters, who despite going through a life-changing journey, which could’ve ended badly, wish each other well. Knowing life goes on. Secondly, our main characters arrive safe at their homes. In a literal sense, they have had a “good night”.
How did you work with cinematographer PJ Claessens to create the film’s aesthetic?
Me and the DOP, PJ Claessens, have been working together for a few years now. For us, Da Yie became like a blueprint, a voice and style that we’ve been developing through our previous works the past few years.
With Da Yie, I really wanted to make cinema. The challenge was to recreate the same kind of energy I experienced being in Ghana, and have it reflected in both sound and image. The camera was like a character of its own, almost like a curious child (me) witnessing everything again. Sometimes the kid wants to be in the action, and sometimes it takes more distance. For me it was important that the camera was on the eye level of the kids. Because that’s our point-of-view. Art direction-wise we wanted to have the three main colors of the Ghanaian flag (red, green, yellow), in contrast to the blue of the sea (innocence), as the four central colors in all of the images.
The pace of the shots and the movements were very important for me. Every place we visit has its own pace, and I wanted to reflect that visually. This brought along the difficulty for me to show you enough for you to feel the environment without showing too much.
Overall, we aimed for high production value, like the great African filmmakers like Djibril Diop, Sembene Ousmane had done in the past. We really wanted it to look and feel big even though it is a very intimate story.
What films or filmmakers have inspired you guys and your approach to telling visual stories?
The opening of the film is an homage to City of God. A film that inspired me to study film. But other influences slipped through as well, like Beasts of the Southern Wild or the seminal coming-of-age film, Fresh, by Boaz Yakin. I’ve also drawn from the work of Nigerian photographer, Emeka Okereke.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
I want the audience to be aware of how the innocence of children can come in danger when confronted with the adult world. But it was also important for me as a filmmaker to create a cinematic experience despite the heavy thematics. It’s not a film to point fingers or to scare. It’s also important to not see things as black and white, but to be open to different perspectives too.
Do you have any future projects in the works that you can share with us?
At the moment, I’m working on my first feature, Postcard, together with the co-writer and co-producer of Da Yie, Chingiz Karibekov. It's inspired by the book On Black Sisters Street by Chika Unigwe. We developed it at Sam Spiegel Filmlab where it won the second prize. I’m also working on a TV show called, Clemenceau, with Chingiz Karibekov & Mohammed El Hajjouti, which we developed at Torino SeriesLab and which is featured on Series Mania. I hope to continue working on projects that can reach a global audience. I feel like now more than ever we need stories that can connect audiences to places they wouldn’t otherwise be privy to. That’s the kind of cinema that inspires me and the kind of cinema I want to make.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!