Press release
Prominent Gambian filmmaker, Prince Bubacarr Aminata Sankanu, has recorded another achievement in his goals of making The Gambia an internationally recognized film-making nation. The members of the Hollywood African Prestigious Awards (HAPAwards), notably, I Dream 4 All Foundation and African Oscars, LLC, in Beverly Hills, California, have nominated Prince Sankanu’s PAIN OF SORROW for BEST MOTION PICTURE (film) 2018.
The Hollywood and African Prestigious Awards and Honours are United States of America based awards which recognizes outstanding individuals whose lives have been marked by extraordinary personal and professional accomplishments. The HAPAwards 2017 honorees included Eddie Murphy’s Cast of Coming to America film, selected politicians, dignitaries, Hollywood and African A-List Actors, Musicians, Comedians and Activists.
ABOUT PRINCE SANKANU
Prince Bubacarr Aminata Sankanu of Sotuma Sere is a pioneer filmmaker and founding father of the New Gambian Cinema called CINEKAMBIYA.
Prince Sankanu made some of the ground-breaking Gambian feature films such as BLEEDING BLADE (2017) on Female Genital Mutilation; PAIN OF SORROW (2017) on the discrimination of girls with disability; KUU BUKA LABANG (2017) a Mandinka language film on changes in destiny; HISIRINWALLE (2017) a Sarahulleh language family drama on ungratefulness.
Sankanu is co-producer of two other latest films like FAASIKE (2018) with Bubacarr Zaidi Jallow and CHOSSANO (2018) with Papis Kebbah Jobarteh and Frank Adim.
Apart from feature films, Prince Sankanu also makes documentaries. He is Executive Producer of a new documentary on the epic of KELEFA SAANE, pre-colonial Sene-Gambian hero directed by Fenja Braster. The KELEFA SAANE documentary is expected to be premiered in The Gambia during the course of 2019.
The Gambia’s premiere annual CINEKAMBIYA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (CIFF) was founded by Prince Bubacarr Aminata Sankanu in 2015. He runs the SANXAANU KAGGORO FILM KAFFO (SANXAAFI) and TAGADOU PRODUCTIONS and has single-handedly mentored, trained and integrated over 180 Gambian youths into the film trade in 2017 alone.
To promote solidarity, synergy and sustainable capacity building, Prince Sankanu created the “TEAM SANKANU- Pioneers of New Gambian CINEKAMBIYA” film collective in 2017.
Sankanu holds, among other qualifications, the academic Master of Letters in Film Studies: Theory and Practice, from the University of Stirling in Scotland, UK and professional Digital Film and Animation Diploma from the SAE Institute in Cologne, Germany.
In 2016 Prince Sankanu won the BEST CULTURE PROMOTER of the MBE IMPROVER AWARD in UK and in 2017 was named Ambassador of The Gambian Film Industry by the Film Producers Association of The Gambia (FPAG).
