Who is raping who?

Ekow Smith Asante and Ama Abebresse on the 'Praising the Lord Plus One'setEkow Smith Asante and Ama Abebresse on the 'Praising the Lord Plus One'setSome screen roles are sometimes difficult to convincingly play out but actors Ekow Smith Asante and Ama K. Abebrese pulled up all their professional skills in the rape scene in Kwaw Ansah’s upcoming film called Praising The Lord Plus One.

In the film about how some fake men of God would go to any extent to exploit followers, Ekow Smith Asante plays Prophet Gabriel who has no qualms at all about getting his way with a drunk believer.

The rape scene, according to Ansah, is a symbolic representation of how some so-called holy men of God are raping the conscience of individuals and society as a whole with their evil ways.

“There is physical rape but moral rape that demoralises a whole people is utter wickedness. All sorts of churches are springing up these days because some characters have realized that using the name of God can be an easy route to riches and uncensored pleasure,” says Ansah whose first feature, Love Brewed In The African Pot came out in 1980.

Other actors in Praising The Lord Plus One include Albert Jackson Davis, Anima Misa Amoah, Eddie Nartey, Adjetey ‘Pusher’ Anang, Fred Amugi, Dzifa Glikpoe, Martin Owusu, Vivienne Achor, Nii Addokwei Moffat and Akosua Agyapong.

In his usual frank manner, Ansah said in a chat with Daily Graphic that almost all his films have touched on some people or a system that sets out to devalue or exploit others. Sometimes it is the inappropriate carrying away of physical resources but it can also play out in the depletion of self-pride.

Whichever form the exploitation occurs, Ansah believes they can be broadly termed as rape.

“Nobody is created to take another person’s possessions, pride or self-value away. Most people have been imbued with adequate intelligence to understand issues and think their way through this existence.

“Others taking advantage of their shortcomings and deceiving them into any form of dependency should be abhorred,” says the veteran film director.

Praising the Lord Plus One is at the post-production stage and is likely to be released by the end of June.