My film of the year -Thandie Newton

For almost three months in 2008, Jarreth Merz followed the unsteady progress of the presidential election in Ghana, a country energized by the recent discovery of oil and still reeling from the aftermath of catastrophic floods.

To capture the national turmoil, the filmmaker who grew up in Ghana, assembles a colourful gallery of political insiders, including the candidates – Nana Akufo -Addo of the ruling New Patriotic Party and John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress -and a lively assortment of commentators, journalists and citizens.

Glossing over ideological differences between the parties, the film finds its central pillar and most passionate voice in former president, Jerry Rawlings, a reformer of modern Ghana and founder of the National Democratic Congress whose opinion of American foreign policy is something other than glowing.

But the story here is less about individual characters than about a national mood: as attentive cameras glide from urban unrest to rural tranquility, from teeming political rallies to a lone fisherman on a hopeful lake, the growing agitation of voters ramp up the tension.

Accusation of stolen ballot boxes and voter intimidation fly everywhere. And political adverts portray the New Patriotic Party as a coiled cobra.

One good thing about this 2008 documentary film, is the access to various participants and most importantly, the Electoral Commission. It really reshaped the way African elections are being organised. It is indeed a documentation that has come to add filip to Africa’s democratic elections and genuine transition.

This is a must watch for every young African following the political process on countries within the continent.

Though it’s a long walk to freedom. Viva Africa!

Film | An African Election 2008
By Jarreth Merz has been viewed in major film festivals across the world.