Amansa Tiafi (Public Toilet Africa) is a personal manifesto— a libation to the spirit and memory of persons whose work and life continue to inspire my practice. I am honoured to participate in the poetics of refusals that marked the work and life of the architects of the freedoms enjoyed by many on the African continent — It is my place in a larger narrative often told on our behalf with troubling consequences.

Amansa Tiafi is many things to me — It is the little girl balancing a full bowl of a dozen bagged water on her head handsfree, doing 20 miles an hour, racing down the highway in her worn-out chalewote (flip-flop slippers), her feet in direct contact with the scathing asphalt. Her determination to sell one bagged water in the sweltering heat of Accra’s notorious traffic to a motorist knows no limit, and she will even count change in the process— still handsfree.

Amansa Tiafi is also the spectacle of the desperate taxi driver on his knees on a backroad in Accra, his only transgression is another man’s opinion on his adherence to some traffic etiquette— yes, there’s a lot of begging to just get through a day.

In plain language, Amansa Tiafi is the absence of a choice, it is the life of the powerless. It is standing in a queue waiting your turn to wash your body and empty your bowels.

And while I do not claim to directly share in the day-to-day experience, I too, bear the shame of the poor, for I have been a passive onlooker to their plight and in that regard, I am no different from a society that denies their existence.

But how can I go on without telling of the resilience, and the undying optimism of the people — Amansa Tiafi is also that story— a symbol of courage and defiance against all odds. And I singularly own the irreverence of being the messenger.

Synopsis

Years after her disappearance, a reticent Ama returns to the city where she was gifted to a white art-collector as a little girl.

Her quest to repay an old debt quickly goes on a tailspin when she recruits and ex- lover for the ride. Evading capture, the lonely country road they travel is beset with a series of bizarre encounters, and their fate tied to that of two passengers they cross paths with.

Original Title: Amansa Tiafi Duratio: 95 Mins

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Format: 2k

Sound: Dolby Digital

Year: 2021

Original Language: Twi, English, Ga, Eve, Polish Countries Of Production: Ghana,

Production Company: Koumbi Saleh Filmworks, Archives At Aburi, Marquee Media.

Genre: Ethno-fiction

Content Rating: Violence/Sex/Strong Language

Key Cast

• Briggitte Appiah is a Libyan-born Ghanaian actress
and photo model whose work is fast gaining attention on the global stage, with her recent role
 as a journalist in the Netflix original, Black Earth Rising.


• David Klu makes his feature debut as an actor, after pursuing an educational career at the national Film and Television Institute in Ghana as a director.

Crew

• Director: Kofi Ofosu-Yeboah

• Cinematographer: Marcin Szocinski

• Editing: Kofi Ofosu-Yeboah, Colorado Rutledge