Akin Omotosho’s crime thriller The Ghost and the House of Truth has clinched the Grand Jury Prize for Best World Narrative Feature at the recently concluded Urbanworld Film Festival in New York. The film contested with Honey Bee (Canada), Desrances (Burkina Faso) and By the Name of Tania (Peru).
Past winners have landed distribution deals with international film companies. Last year’s winner The Burial of Kojo was picked up by Ava Duvernay’s Array and eventually released as a Netflix original.
In her appreciation post on Instagram, executive producer Ego Boyo thanked her cast and crew and the people of Makoko, where the film was shot. “We take this opportunity to thank our wonderful cast and the incredible crew without whom this masterpiece of cinema would not have been made,” Boyo said. “We are also grateful for the resilient people of the community of Makoko where the film was shot.”
The Ghost and the House of Truth tells the story of a counsellor whose 8-year-old daughter goes missing. “Frustrated with the police investigation, she takes it upon herself to catch the perpetrator, but as time runs out things take an unexpected turn.”
The film stars Tope Tedela, Kate Henshaw, Susan Wokoma, Seun Ajayi, Kemi Lala Akindoju and Uzo Osimpka.