Elmina Castle serves another major film

With its solid, majestic walls constantly buffeted by the Atlantic Ocean, the Elmina Castle in the Central Region has always been a strong pull for tourists from all over the world.

Built by the Portuguese in 1482, the fortress which is the oldest European building in existence south of the Sahara, has also over the years, been a magnet for both  documentary and feature film makers.

A major film shot there last August and September was the  Danish-Ghanaian co-produced Goldcoast.

Until just about a fortnight ago, shouts of  ‘Quiet on the set,’ ‘Roll camera,’ and ‘action,’ echoed across the big courtyard of the castle as the Danish  and Ghanaian crew and cast worked hard to film a  historical feature set around 1830.

“For stories of historical nature that bring Africans and Europeans together, the Elmina Castle with its rich history about contacts between Africa and Europe, offers a unique ambience for filming,” says writer/director Kwame Boadi, a co-producer on the Goldcoastfilm.

“No matter where you come from, you cannot be told  the story of the castle and not be touched by the layers of history embedded there. More significantly, the architecture of the castle and its location by the sea offers a lot of aesthetic value to film makers.”

One of the biggest films to have been produced in the Elmina Castle was Cobra Verde, the 1987 German-Ghanaian work that featured the great German actor, Klaus Kinski. It was shown widely around the world, thus exposing the magnificent castle to people not already aware of its existence and grandeur.

Producers of Goldcoast also say the film will be distributed worldwide upon completion by the middle of next year. There will be two premieres in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Accra respectively.

Goldcoast is about a Danish young man who has proposed marriage to a Danish woman. Before they marry, however, he is sent by the Danish king to the Gold Coast to help establish coffee plantations.

He realises upon arrival that things are not as smooth-sailing as had been planned in Denmark.

His attitude changes towards his countrymen and their role in the colonies and he also begins to wonder whether to return to his fiancé in Denmark or stay in Africa with the beautiful local girl he has found.

Some known Ghanaian actors that played parts in the film included Wakefield Akuaku, Fred Amugi, Dominic Demordzi and  Akorfa Edjeani-Asiedu.

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