Luckie Lawson Talks Trokosi Ahead Of 'Like Cotton Twins' At IFFI

Luckie Lawson

Ghanaian filmmaker and actress Luckie Lawson is hopeful ‘Trokosi’ will be a topical issue at the 2016 edition of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) as Leila Djansi’s directed film about the subject ‘Like Cotton Twines’ screens at the festival this week.
‘Trokosi’ is a practice in rural Ghana, Togo and Benin where traditional religious shrines take young girls, usually virgins, in payment for services or as religious atonement for a supposed offense of a family member still persists.
The actress who played a role in the film is expected to leave Ghana today for the festival in India.
She described the practice as critical and unfortunate, and it needs world attention to stop it.
“It is great opportunity for me attend to this year’s IFFI. It is a big platform for filmmakers from around the world and I am hopeful to network with others who will be attending. ‘Like Cotton Twines’ is a great film which is already making headlines from previous festivals. The issue of Trokosi is critical and I hope talking about it on platforms like this will give attention to it so as to help end it. I don’t understand why a young girl should be paying for a crime she has not committed. It is unfortunate and we must all join hands to condemn it say ‘No To Trokosi’,” Luckie said on Sunday.
‘Like Cotton Twines’ is about a 14-year-old Ghanaian girl who is supposed to become a slave to the gods as part of an appeasement of her father’s sins. She then meets an African-American volunteer who is teaching in her village. It is a touching story.
The film has already been screened at the Savannah Film Festival and the Urban world Film Festival.
It will be screened at the IFFI on November 23 in Goa as one of the masterpiece films of the festival.
The IFFI founded in 1952 is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. It is held annually in the state of Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of the film art; contributing to the understanding and appreciation of film cultures of different nations in the context of their social and cultural ethos; and promoting friendship and cooperation among people of the world.

By Francis Addo (Twitter: @fdee50  Email: fdee500@yahoo.com )