Take A Bow Godwin Kotey

Ghanaian producer, actor and director Godwin Kotey is dead. He is reported to have died at the Legon Hospital last Monday.

Godwin’s last movie was Leila Djansi’s I Sing Of a Well. Until his death, Godwin lived in Chicago and Virginia in the US and was pursuing his PHD in Speech Communication on a Fulbright Scholarship at the Southern Illinois University.

Godwin Kotey is noted for popular productions such as Police Officer, Sodom and Gomorrah and a host of others. He directed several productions including Smash TV in 1996 and 1997 and Taxi Driver in 1999. Godwin won an award at the African Film

Festival in Burkina Faso, FESPACO in 2001 with his movie, Scent of Danger.

Godwin had an illustrious career in the arts, television and events. He was heavily involved with the organising of the opening and closing ceremonies of the African Cup of Nations 2008 in Ghana.

According to Godwin’s website, www.godwinkotey.com where one could get up close and personal with him, Godwin’s first big break came when he walked into the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) studio in 1987when he was asked to read the part of one of the characters in a new TV production.

It continues “The producer liked his impromptu audition and thus, started his television career. From his first role as Anane in the TV series, Anane- A Strange Coincidence by Martin Owusu, Godwin appeared in an impressive number of TV theatre productions aired by GBC.

However, working for television soon became routine and no longer provided Godwin with the challenges and stimulation that drive him creatively and in 1989 he left GBC.”

“For his final year production piece at the School of Performing Arts in University of Ghana in 1989, Godwin directed Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution and realised he was made to be a director. That same year his play was selected for the 1990 School of Performing Arts’ Theatre Season Play of the Year. That, for Godwin marked his directorial debut.

“Looking back Godwin always felt that his future lay in directing theatre productions and did not envisage that his career would take a turn into film directing.

“After two years working as a member of Abibigromma, the resident theatre company of the University of Ghana, Godwin branched off into film and television production for a number of years.

In 1995, he wrote and produced Police Officer intending to present it as television series pilot but found himself challenged to develop the script for a movie.

Until his death, Godwin Kotey was a Senior Lecturer at the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana, Legon and CEO of Dream House Studios.