Eyimofe star Temi Ami-Williams makes history at FESPACO

Temi Ami-Williams and Jacob Alexander are seen in this scene from the GDN Studios-produced film Eyimofe (This Is My Desire)

Temi Ami-Williams, star of the award-winning Nigerian feature film EYIMOFE (This Is My Desire), has made history by becoming the second Nigerian actor to win a prize at Africa’s biggest and most prestigious film festival, the Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou.

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Miss Ami-Williams won the FESPACO Prize for the Best Young Actor from West Africa.

Clarion Chukwurah was the first to win a FESPACO prize, winning the Best Actress prize back in 1985 for her role in Ola Balogun’s Owo L’agba (Money Power).

The award which is accompanied by a cash award of CFA 1 million, recognises the work of young West African film actors, aged 30 or less, who has distinguished herself/himself by her/his acting in a fictional film in competition at FESPACO 2021.

Also known as Festival pan-Africain du Cinema et de la Television de Ouagadougou, or FESPACO for short, the biennial award was instituted in 1969 and is now in its 28th edition.

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Nigeria’s Newton Aduaka won the grand prize – the Golden Stallion of Yennenga – for his 2007 film ‘Ezra,’ the drama, based on the decade long civil war in Sierra Leone, but it was registered as a European coproduction.

This year’s FESPACO grand prize went to ‘The Gravedigger’s Wife,’ a film by Finish-Somali director Khadar Ahmed.

FESPACO 2021 took place in the Burkinabe capital from October 16 to 23. It was initially set for February 27 to March 6 but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Miss Ami-Williams might not have had any experience with film acting prior to Eyimofe, despite being a graduate of theatre arts, but she found it easy to play the character of Rosa in the GDN Studios-produced film.

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In Eyimofe, she played the role of Rosa, an everyday Nigerian trying to make ends meet through multiple sources of income. Rosa works as a hairstylist, a bartender, sells personal items to raise money, and even entertains the attention of an unwanted suitor for money.

In an earlier interview with The Guardian, Miss Ami-Williams, who has taught at a school for autistic children and was into costume designing before making her on-screen debut in Eyimofe, said she could easily connect and resonate with Rosa as she has “already lived through it.”

“Eyimofe is my first film, so I had to understand many new things.” She said at the time. “Being the person to carry the story of Eyimofe to people is something I am very proud of, so I had to do it right. I had to understand shots, how much and how little was expected of me during scenes. I am glad the directors and producers took all these into consideration and they even got Cynthia Egbijie and me a coach whom they flew in to take us through the story, how to bring it to life and the techniques needed.”

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