FACE TO FACE
86 OPENSPACE NOVEMBER 2014
Face to Face
An African Election Political Safari“democracy (is) a learning process, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of the people it (is) supposed to protect…”
Jarreth Merz
Jarreth Merz is a Swiss-Ghanaian filmmaker, actor and producer who made his film “An African
Election” with OSIWA’s support. The documentary took two years to make and premiered at
the Sundance Film Festival. It later went on to win several awards, including at the Sundance
Film Festival and the AMA Awards in Nigeria. The film project also included a mobile cinema
outreach campaign in West Africa and was dubbed into five local languages – reaching more
than 25,000 people in first its first six weeks.
OSIWA: Tell us what prompted you to make a
film on elections in Africa? And why on Ghana
specifically, (aside from it being a country
where you spent your childhood)?
Jarreth: Africa is mostly depicted as a develop-
ing continent in the media, trying to catch up
to its Western counterparts. Spending most of
my adulthood in Europe and the United States
my memories of the Africa of my childhood
had began being blurred and mixed with the
images I was being fed by the Western media.
The image of Africa was always that of a
continent in despair, fueled by armed conflicts,
hunger and corruption. The exception to that
was of course the rich animal world, usually
portrayed in beautiful high definition images
and highly appreciated by viewers around the
world as a form of meditational distraction. I
was ready to reexamine culture and people,
to create my own images of the Africa I knew
best, Ghana. Together with my brother, Kevin
Merz, we decided to continue our adventure
of making films in and about Africa, documen-
taries to be more precise, that would serve as
contemporary examples to a broad audience,
produced with narrative depth, entertaining
and powerful images. Little did I know at the
time it was going to be a film about the 2008
presidential elections in Ghana. Together with
our father we were brainstorming on what
could be a unique angle of telling an African
story. After many discussions we decided to
make a film about the presidential elections,
something we found hadn’t been done in the
way we attempted to. The goal was to tell the
story from the inside, which we anticipated
was going to be the greatest challenge. But in
effect it ended up being one of the many chal-
lenges we were going to face. I remember clearly
a day when we had ran out of funds, the film
was funded by ourselves and through Tiziana
Soudani, a visionary and risk it all producer, who
managed to get the Swiss TV RSI on board. At
some point though we were out of cash and
the presidential campaign was in full swing.
This meant chasing all the candidates around
the country and needing a lot of fuel to do so.
With our pockets empty our project once again
seemed doomed, but we came across a system
that would allow for us to maintain our neutral-
ity, we made sure each political party would take
turns in sponsoring a full tank!
OSIWA: Who was the audience you had in mind
while making the film? How did you manage to
tailor the film to meet the specific sensibilities
of both an African and a Western audience?
Jarreth: First and foremost we were looking at
telling a story we ourselves were interested in,
which explains why the film is not narrated or
commented on, but unfolds through the eyes
We were hoping to give Western audiences a slice of an African political reality with all its challenges and frailties and how Ghanaians dealt with the obstacles they encountered. For Ghanaians and other African viewers we were hoping to give them a unique insight into their political processes, allowing them to eavesdrop onto what is otherwise hidden from them.
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of an observer as the action unfolds. The topic
itself lends itself to engage a local audience. The
challenge would be to entice a broader and inter-
national viewership and to keep them interested
for 90 minutes. Who would want to watch poli-
ticians in a far away country competing for the
presidency, when people were hardly interested
in their own political spheres. Here is where I
decided to revert to a classic three-act formula
and tools from the American entertainment
industry to create a thrilling political experience
with social ingredients.
OSIWA: How do you see the level of electoral
engagement of citizens in West Africa as
compared to that in the West?
Jarreth: From what I have seen and there are of
course exceptions, the electoral engagement in
West Africa is based on more existential needs
than in the West. Meaning that in West Africa
you are still going to the ballot box to improve
your life and for it to meet a minimum standard,
a standard that we have already achieved in the
West. For example, healthcare, political and
economic stability, access to education and tools
to exercise your civil rights. This and the statis-
tics of electoral engagement, which is mostly
above 80% compared to the average 50% in the
West makes me believe that electoral engage-
ment is higher in West Africa.
OSIWA: You gain an impressive amount of
access to political candidates, and to the
political room. How did you get this?
Jarreth: I am patient! We set out to film three
months prior to the elections and by the time the
heat was on the different political parties had
gotten used to us traveling with them and filming
in front and behind the scenes. Our cameras had
almost become invisible to them. I say almost
because there were very delicate moments in
which doors were shut before us. Nonetheless
we were able to gain the trust of most players,
especially the crucial electoral body and its
chairman, Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan. We gained
unprecedented access to the “strong room”,
the off-limits area in which all the votes from
around the country were tallied and signed off
by the parties and the electoral commissioner.
I wasn’t out to gather sensational footage, but
rather to get a sense of the complexities of the
electoral processes and therefore I needed eve-
rybody’s fullest trust. With some we gained it
and sealed it with a gentleman’s agreement with
others we didn’t, so it goes. One must add that
our family was known within the political realm
and therefore we had a calling card by which we
were measured.
OSIWA: What do you hope Western audiences
will take away from this film? What do you
hope African audiences will take away from
this film? In actuality, what were the reactions?
Where you surprised in any way? How did poli-
ticians react?
Jarreth: We were hoping to give Western
audiences a slice of an African political reality
with all its challenges and frailties and how
Ghanaians dealt with the obstacles they en-
countered. For Ghanaians and other African
viewers we were hoping to give them a unique
insight into their political processes, allowing
them to eavesdrop onto what is otherwise
hidden from them. The reactions were overall
overwhelming. Western audiences thanking us
for showing them a positive, yet critical example
and image of Africa, sharing with us their feeling
Despite disputed
electoral result, the nation came
together, had a critical dialogue
across the political landscape, but in
the end peacefully accepted the
results.
FACE TO FACE
88 OPENSPACE NOVEMBER 2014
of having been inspired by the passion displayed
by Ghanaian voters and the discipline and pro-
fessional respect exercised by the presidential
candidates. Local audiences were mesmerized
to be given a glimpse behind what are usually
closed doors. Most were grateful for portray-
ing people with dignity and humanity, they felt
proud and empowered. Others felt that we could
have created a more positive image of Ghana
and that there were too many clichés in the
way we depicted the people of Ghana, my own
countrymen and women! The most enchant-
ing comment was from an audience member I
believe in Madagascar who asked how we got
to cast such terrific actors, they really believed
it was all staged! One of the greatest compli-
ments for us, if you ask me! Some politicians
thought it was a great mirror and lesson learnt
for society others felt they were not presented
well enough. All political sides complained, that
their message had not been brought across ad-
equately to which I responded that we weren’t
making a propaganda film for any political party.
OSIWA: What was the most challenging part
of making this film?
Jarreth: Hmm! You just got me on that question,
the usual answer would be putting together
financing, trying to convince people that this is a
project that will impact human kind, malaria and
other diseases, equipment theft, being caught
between police and rioters as brick stones rained
upon us, evacuating the crew, etc. But I will say
that after filming over 220 hours of film material,
to sit down and go through all the footage and to
create the story by condensing it into 90 minutes
was the most challenging to me, a glimpse of
madness! It took us over a year to do so.
OSIWA: In what ways did documenting this
election period make you optimistic about the
future of Africa’s democracies? Pessimistic?
Jarreth: The vibrant participation in the elections
in Ghana, the will to tackle problems within the
electoral system and processes, both were
inspiring to say the least. Despite disputed
electoral result, the nation came together, had
a critical dialogue across the political landscape,
but in the end peacefully accepted the results.
A key to the success was further the accept-
ance of the results by the defeated parties.
What worries me though is the widening gap
between poor and rich, the winner takes it all
mentality and the accepted levels of corruption.
There is a lack of vision among African leaders
who mostly focus on quick fixes, but where have
those quick fixes really brought us in the last 50
years? When looked at it from the ouside, there
is growth, African cities are growing, high risers
are being built and it superficially looks as if we
have tied with the modern world. But when you
All political sides complained, that their message had not been brought across adequately to which I responded that we weren’t making a propaganda film for any political party.
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step into those building you realise that elevators
don’t work and you still have to walk up those
floors to get to the top, there are no shortcuts
to sustainability.
OSIWA: Your filmmaking style is very
American – both in form and content. How does
it contrast with traditional filmmaking styles
in West Africa? What influence, if any, do you
see your style and that of other American film-
makers having on local filmmakers and this
cinematic tradition?
Jarreth: Absolutely right, thrilling and entertain-
ing cinema is what I like, but there also needs
to be depth to it. Otherwise the audience will
feel cheated in the end. Despite our limited
resources we decided to create epic images or at
least to attempt to do so, anything less wouldn’t
be good enough. Sometimes we achieved that -
and even more - and other times…well don’t get
me started! Good storytelling is always magical
and we in Africa have perfected that tradition.
We just haven’t commercialized it like other
countries or nations have. I was inspired at a very
early age by a film called: “Love brewed in an
African pot”, a film by Kwaw Ansah, a Ghanaian
filmmaker. I studied film in Europe and in the US,
so I mix it all up, by default. I also try to work
with the best people in the film industry; they
make up for my shortcomings. I recently saw
a documentary and thought: Wow, they really
watched An African Election and used elements
of our filmmaking “style”. But then again that
might be wishful thinking. Okay, back to your
question: Yes, Western filmmaking has strongly
influenced our film culture in Africa, the way we
see and express ourselves, but we have never
given up our uniqueness in storytelling. Here is
my only criticism: The technical tools to imitate
the visual and audio quality of our eyes and ears
are available, why do we in so many cases settle
with substandard production results?!
OSIWA: What can the West learn from Africa
in terms of election preparation?
Jarreth: Dear West, please invite African
observers to monitor your elections, they are
skilled and will immediately detect any form of
irregularities, they are used to them! Many claim
that the 2000 elections between Bush vs. Gore
were not as democratic as the 2008 presidential
elections in Ghana, that in Ghana the people
decided who would be their next president and
not the Supreme Court as was the case in the US.
So I believe the West can and must learn from
the entire electoral processes and be reminded
that one must not take democracy for granted,
it is a complex yet fragile creature that needs a
lot of nurturing.
OSIWA: What can Africa learn from the West
in the same regard?
Jarreth: Democracy can work; it has proven to
do so in the West. It is a tool that can help create
stability, which in itself is a nurturing ground for
progress and social justice. Every citizen of the
world deserves this, no matter the color of your
skin, your income, your religious background,
your political affiliation and sexual orientation.
OSIWA: What kind of democracy do you think
Africa needs?
Jarreth: Democracy starts with me, here and
now, the way I interact with people. Only when
I live it in my day to day life, can I apply it to
a political environment and truly understand
its nature and impact. In other words, it has to
become a part of my way of living and thinking.
I can only say that democracy is not a
Western invention, there are democratic struc-
tures in African culture that go way back in time
before Europe entered the Middle Ages or the
United States fought their civil war. What form
of democratic structures are we relating to here?
Democracy is deeply embedded in the African
culture, for example the Ashanti culture is full
of democratic structures. Maybe we should
look at what is there already and enrich what
we have with complimentary democratic tools
Democracy starts with
me, here and now, the way I interact
with people.
FACE TO FACE
90 OPENSPACE NOVEMBER 2014
that have proven successful over time. A student
once asked me when we screened the film at a
university in Conakry, Guinea, if I believed that
democracy would work for them. I told him
that I didn’t know for sure, that democracy was
a learning process, but that it shouldn’t be at
the expense of the people it was supposed to
protect. That democracy was a system operated
by people and therefore had its weaknesses,
but that if it had a cultural relevance it could
be implemented successfully. That people had
to agree on rules of conduct in order to play a
fair game and that it was important to know the
rules.
This is what inspired our social media outreach
campaign: A Political Safari, to share with
audiences around the world a positive example
of An African Election and to raise awareness by
traveling with a mobile cinema around African
countries with impending elections, hosting
capacity building workshops and empowering
through knowledge. Democracy is not a perfect
system, but it is an ancient construct that has
proven to facilitate peaceful and stable environ-
ments, which is the basis for equitable progress
and growth.
http://www.politicalsafari.org/TITLE_PAGE.
html (produced in collaboration with OSIWA)
OSIWA: Why are you focusing your next film
on the Commissioner specifically?
Jarreth: The Commissioner is a follow up to
our film, which is already more than four years
old. I wanted to revisit the scene of events and
see what lessons history has taught us. What
change did the elections bring to the people
of Ghana and did the culture of democracy
really find its stronghold in Ghana as is often
claimed. The Chairman of the Electoral Com-
mission of Ghana will help us answer some of
these questions.
Jarreth’s final note:
Maybe it is time for us to ask what kind of Africa
does democracy need? I wish for an Africa,
where people have access to water and food,
as a basic right of a citizen. An Africa where
people can find an education that will allow them
to study abroad and a job market that is built on
what Africans have and not what they could have
to begin with. I want an African life to be worth
more than the current running value, any life
for that matter. If truly every life counts, if every
person matters, so will democracy.
Times are always changing, but one of the
most impacting political cycles is coming to an
end before our eyes; the fall of dictators born
and bread in the wake of the Cold War. The Arab
Spring has revealed a new political generation
and political consciousness. This is our time to
make choices that we want to be held account-
able for. We live in a very fast paced world and
most of us are connected through social media.
We know what is happening, sometimes the
flow of information is overwhelming and there
is the danger of becoming numb and indifferent.
I try to remind myself that behind every story
there is a person and that it is just as important
in the scope of things as my own.