Director
Leila Afua Djansi
Cast list
Jimmy Jean-Louis: Jimah Sanson
Chris Attoh: Mensah
Ama Abebrese : Pabi
Yemi Blaq: Dr Zach Mathews
Louis Marcus: Jimah's friend
Credits
Theodore Baidoo: producer
Leila Djansi: producer
Dave Harper: executive producer
Winrich Kolbe : executive producer
Nora Kumahor: line producer
Nick Manousakis: producer associate
Tonita Perry: producer
Whitney Valcin: associate producer
Synopsis
Pabi and Jimah are a happily married couple living a peaceful life. Pabi is a teacher and an aspiring school principal who hopes to start a family with Jimah. Their relationship descends into abuse after Pabi has a cooking accident that causes Jimah severe burns. After two months recovering in the hospital, Jimah is left with extensive disfiguration and scarring on the left side of his face. Unable to concentrate at work, the guilt-ridden Pabi takes time off from teaching in order to look after Jimah, and he begins to take out his anger through violence directed at Pabi. A poignant portrayal of the domestic abuse cycle, Pabi’s guilt and sense of responsibility in creating Jimah’s situation inclines her to forgive her husband’s abuse. The film follows Pabi as she makes choices regarding companionship, independence, love, and life. Cutting across lines of race and gender, Sinking Sands demands reflection from individuals who live in various types of bondage, particularly women.
Reviews
Vanessa Martinez, Review: Leila Djansi's "Sinking Sands" (2011) - A Poignant Look At Spousal Victimization & Independence. Indiewire (independent film website)
Joy Della Ocloo, Sinking Sands, A Candid Picture. NigeriaFilms (African film website)
Amarachukwu Iwuala, Movie Review: “Sinking Sand.” Nigerian Entertainment Today (Nigerian entertainment newspaper)
Ameyaw Debrah, Through Sinking Sands. Modern Ghana (Ghanaian news website)
Academic Articles:
African Video Movies and Global Desires: A Ghanian History by Carmela Garritano. Ohio University Research in International Studies, Africa Series No. 91 (2013), p. 154-194.
Bondzi, Jacquiline Afua. “UNIFEM Ghana Endorses Sinking Sands.” The Ghanaian Chronicle. 10 December 2010: Print.