Shirley Frimpong-Manso

Shirley Frimpong-Manso (born 16 March 1977) is a Ghanaian film director, writer, and producer. She is the founder and CEO of Sparrow Productions, a film, television and advertising production company.[1] She won Best Director at the 6th Africa Movie Academy Awards.[2] Frimpong-Manso is also a principal of Sparrow Station, a video streaming service for African entertainment from Sparrow and other African film producers.[3] In 2013, she was ranked the 48th most influential person in Ghana according to E.tv Ghana.[4]

Shirley Frimpong-Manso
Shirley Frimpong-Manso at the 2014 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards in Lagos
Born (1977-03-16) March 16, 1977
Kwahu East District
NationalityGhanaian
Occupation(s)Film director and producer
SpouseKen Attoh (married 2009–present)
Websitewww.sparrowstation.com

Frimpong-Manso is described as one who "seeks to raise the standard of film production in Ghana and Africa by telling progressive African stories as seen through the eyes of Africans."[1] Changing the way Ghana was portrayed also motivated her career choice.[5] Her films are also known for their "fierce female leads,"[6] as they portray African women with agency who can be breadwinners and lead complex lives.[6][7] In December 2019, her movie ‘Potato Potahto’ started streaming on Netflix.[8]

Biography
Her awards

Frimpong-Manso is from Kwahu Pepease in the Eastern Region of Ghana. As a child she organized plays, which "felt a lot more fun than playing with sand and dolls."[1] She graduated in 2000 from the National Film and Television Institute popularly known as NAFTI in Ghana and worked as a presenter at Radio Gold, a private station in Accra, and then went on to start Sparrow Productions in 2003.[1]

Her husband and business partner is Ken Attoh, and they have a child together.[9]

Works

With producer and actress Juliet Asante, Frimpong-Manso helped produce the TV show Heart to Heart for two years shortly after school. She has also produced:[1]

  • Different Shades of Blue - a television series about five university girls who share a dormitory in a university hostel.[10]
  • Personalities Kitchen - a cooking programme that hosts two personalities and challenges them to a rice meal of their choice.[1]
  • The Miss Ghana Pageant - she produced two semifinalists at the Miss World event within five years during her time.[1]

Filmography
Film Production
Year		 Distribution
Companies		 Production
Type		 Notes
Life and Living it 2009 Sparrow Station Film The stories of four male friends: a musician, a dancer, a doctor, and an advertising manager.[11] "Major themes include love, friendship, and family."[12]
Scorned 2009 Sparrow Station Film
The Perfect Picture 2009 Sparrow Station Film The story of the lives and loves of three Ghanaian women friends,[13][14] focusing on marriage and societal norms of Ghana that are not represented in Western film.[15] Frimpong-Manso won Best Director for The Perfect Picture at the 2010 Africa Movie Academy Awards, where her films garnered a total of four awards.
A Sting in a Tale 2009 Sparrow Station Film "A cautionary tale about two Ghanaian men scrambling to find jobs."[16] It won an Audience Favorite award at the 2010 Pan African Film & Arts Festival
Checkmate 2010 Sparrow Station Film
6 Hours to Christmas 2010 Sparrow Station Film A tale of a creative director whose life was overturned when he was tempted to stray on Christmas Eve.[17]
Peep 2011 Sparrow Station

TV3

 TV series
Contract 2012 Sparrow Station Film A successful businessman who desires to avoid marital responsibility contracts with a woman to bear his child. Six nominations at 2013 Africa Movie Academy Awards, including best director. Won four awards at 2014 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, including best movie.[18][19]
Adams Apples 2011–2013 Sparrow Station TV series A 10-part serial released during one year starting in April 2011. It follows the lives of four women (a mother and three adult children) in modern Ghana.[20][21][22]
Potomanto 2013 Sparrow Station

Africa Magic

 Film About "an emotionally sore private investigator who mistakenly stumbles on a case of organ harvesting."[23] Nine nominations at 2014 Africa Movie Academy Awards, including best film and best director.
Big for Nothing 2013 Sparrow Station Short film
Stranger in my Bed 2013 Sparrow Station Short film
Tenant 2013 Africa Magic TV series
Devil in the Detail 2014 Sparrow Station

Africa Magic

 Film Suspicions of marital infidelity. "Shirley Frimpong-Manso toyed with us and tripped us up over whether Helen cheated on her husband. At first it was Ben that was suspicious of Helen but then she literally flipped the script and Helen became suspicious of Ben. The core of the movie deals with morality...."[24] One nomination for 2015 Africa Movie Academy Awards
Love or Something Like That 2014 Sparrow Station

Africa Magic

 Film
V-Republic 2014 Sparrow Station TV series
Grey Dawn 2015 Sparrow Station

Africa Magic

 Film
Shampaign[25] 2016 Sparrow Station TV series A drama featuring a woman campaigning to be president of Ghana. "'Shampaign' takes inspiration from the recent events that have dominated pop culture, from America’s election, to the inability of Nigeria or Ghana to present a strong female political aspirant."[26]
Rebecca 2016 Sparrow Station Film "Abandoned and lost in the middle of a deserted road, an egotistic proper city guy gets a rude awakening when he begins to realize that his only companion, a timid-looking village girl who he had been forced to marry only a few hours earlier, is anything but ordinary."[27] Nominated in two categories for Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards[27]
Potato Potahto 2017 Film A "hilarious spin on divorce." "The movie tells the story of a couple, who decide to still live in their matrimonial home even after they split up."[28] Nominated in five categories for Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards[29]
The Perfect Picture: Ten Years Later 2019 Film A sequel to The Perfect Picture. The three leads are ten years older, and their relationships are not so prefect.[30] It won both Best Ghanaian Movie of the Year and Best Movie of the Year at the 2021 Citi TV Entertainment Achievement Awards.[31]
Us In Between 2020 Sparrow Station Film The story of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on human life.[32]

Awards

References
  1. Amankwa, Obour (May 16, 2010). "Biography of Shirley Frimpong-Manso: A Director with Outstanding Skills". GhanaCelebrities.com. Retrieved February 26, 2011.
  2. Amankwa, Obour (April 20, 2010). "African Movie Academy Awards 2010: Shirley Frimpong Manso Wins Director of The Year". The Nigerian Voice. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  3. Abotsi, Maureen (December 13, 2013). "Shirley Frimpong-Manso's Sparrow Station Goes Live!". Ghana Nation. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  4. "Etv Ghana holds maiden edition of Ghana Most Influential People". etvghana.com. April 23, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
  5. "I went into movies to change the way Ghana was portrayed - Shirley Frimpong-Manso". www.myjoyonline.com. May 13, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  6. Vourlias, Christopher (March 22, 2015). "In Ghana, movies project fierce female leads". Al Jazeera America. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  7. Vourlias, Christopher (August 4, 2015). "Ghana's Shirley Frimpong-Manso Opens Doors for Female Colleagues". Variety. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  8. "Shirley Frimpong-Manso's 'Potato Potahto' makes it to Netflix". Graphic Showbiz. December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  9. "Shirley Frimpong Manso & Her Man-Ken Attoh..." Ghanacelebrities.com. October 2, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2018.
  10. Adwoa Serwaa Bonsu (September 20, 2007). "In Different Shades Of Blue • Drama Is Only A Heart Beat Away". The Nigerian Voice. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  11. "Life and Living It". Nollywood News. ModernGhana.com. April 22, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  12. "Life and Living It (2009)". African Film Database. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  13. Debrah, Ameyaw (March 30, 2009). "Shirley Frimpong-Manso's Perfect Picture". Jamati.com. Archived from the original on August 6, 2010.
  14. "The Perfect Picture (2009)". African Film Database. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  15. Agyapong Febiri, Chris-Vincent. "BBC's Interview With Shirley Frimpong Manso". GhanaCelebrities.com. Retrieved December 27, 2010.
  16. "Film reviews: Desert Flower & A Sting in a Tale". The Africa Report. September 14, 2010. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
  17. Smith, Hilda Lan (October 15, 2010). "6 Hours to Christmas". Modern Ghana. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  18. Donkoh, Ebenezer (March 9, 2014). "Shirley Frimpong-Manso wins Best Director at 2014 AfricaMagic Viewers' Choice Awards #AMCVA2014". NY DJ Live. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  19. "And the 2014 Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards WINNERS Are…". BellaNaija. March 9, 2014. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  20. "Adams Apples". Internet Movie Database.
  21. "About Adams Apples". Movie web site. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  22. "Adams Apples Movie". Facebook page.
  23. "Potomanto: NR Review". NollywoodREinvented. January 7, 2014. Retrieved August 5, 2014.
  24. "Devil in the Detail". Talk African Movies. September 28, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2018.
  25. "Shampaign". Sparrow Station. Retrieved December 19, 2018.
  26. "Series Review: Shampaign". Nollywood Observer. March 13, 2017. Retrieved December 20, 2018.
  27. "'Rebecca': Shirley Frimpong Manso's movie set for premiere in the UK". "The Today Post". January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  28. Izuzu, Chidumga. ""Potato Potahto" - How Shirley Frimpong-Manso put a hilarious spin on divorce". www.pulse.ng. Retrieved December 15, 2018.
  29. Hansen, Gabriel Myers (July 6, 2018). "2018 Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards: Shirley Frimpong-Manso's POTATO POTAHTO Keeps Ghana Afloat". Proudly Ghanaian! | EnewsGH. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  30. "Ghanaian Movie "The Perfect Picture – Ten Years Later" premiered with the Leading Ladies in Attendance". BellaNaija. December 3, 2019. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  31. "Winners of Entertainment Achievement Awards 2021 [Full list]". Citi FM (Ghana). March 27, 2021. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  32. Dadzie, Kwame (November 30, 2020). "Shirley Frimpong-Manso premieres 'Us in Between', a movie on COVID-19". Citi FM (Ghana). Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  33. "Shirley Frimpong Manso's 'A Sting in a Tale' wins award". Modern Ghana. February 26, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  34. Dadzie, Kwame (March 29, 2021). "Three things to know about #EAAwards winner Shirley Frimpong-Manso". Citi FM (Ghana). Retrieved May 27, 2022.
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