Eat Songs

Work-in-Progress Feature-Length Documentary
Produced & Directed by Peter Gerard & Nicholas Soldan

When two well-meaning filmmakers tie their destinies to an African musician’s impossible dream, they are trapped in a battle for music, money and love.

Synopsis

Eat Songs opens in the city of Edinburgh, one of Europe's most picturesque capitals, with Ntzu Kpongg (pronounced in-choo pong) hanging upside-down from a tree in the park.

After twelve years in Scotland, Ntzu – a colorful Ghanaian musician – gives up a pending asylum application and his six-year-old half-white son to return to his homeland and pursue his dream of recording his African album. With support from two friends, Peter – an American filmmaker settled in Scotland – and Nicholas – an idealistic British musician and filmmaker – Ntzu heads home. Peter joins Ntzu for the trip, and Nicholas will come to Ghana in two months.

But life and music are not the beloved African culture Ntzu remembers. Moreover, the locals are reluctant to accept his style. With Ntzu's white friend Peter and his camera always around, people expect Ntzu brings dollars instead of simply passion for music. In fact, he is penniless and borrowing money from Peter daily.

Ntzu gathers a ragtag group of amateur musicians, but when they fall out over money Ntzu realizes that his dream is actually relying on Peter. As Peter's departure date approaches, Ntzu begins to lose hope. Without Peter there to help him, he has nothing. No band, no money, no job. No passport and no chance of returning to the UK to see his son.

Nicholas arrives in Ghana largely unaware of what has been happening for the past two months. Eager to collaborate musically with Ntzu as he had done when they were friends in Edinburgh, Nicholas encourages Ntzu and immerses himself in his life and dreams. Peter has run out of cash, and Nicholas has brought meager funds. Relying on optimism and energy Nicholas and Ntzu still anticipate achieving the goal of the coveted album.

After several fruitless concerts and recording sessions with different amateur bands, Nicholas returns to Edinburgh. He and Peter have grown wary of Ntzu's unhealthy dependence on them (Peter still makes regular calls to Western Union). After plenty of discussion, they decide to go back to Ghana and try to help him find a future in the Ghanaian development sector.

Despite Ntzu's reluctant feelings about working with charities, he is surprisingly blown away with excitement. Talking to Chiefs and Queens who are doing good work for the community, Ntzu sees a way to get involved and really make a difference.

Still, Ntzu is a musician and a dreamer and refuses to let go of the reason he came home in the first place. Tension builds into arguments as Ntzu sees money being spent on charity work that could be funding his music. One evening Ntzu finally explodes at them, accusing Peter of trying to enslave him with his dollars. His violent outburst shakes Peter. Already weak from malaria, Peter gives up and leaves Ghana, realizing finally that the only way Ntzu can succeed is if he goes it alone, however hard that might be for any of them.

Visual Treatment

Early in the film, Peter gives Ntzu his own video camera, a device that he tries to personify by naming it. This unique interaction establishes a powerful intimacy between Ntzu and the camera that is felt throughout the film. Yet at times his ease with the camera encourages an attitude of self-importance.

Peter makes his presence in the film mainly through voice-over, off-screen dialogue, and occasional appearances. Through much of the film he struggles for a distanced, observational involvement, but the way he frames the scene often betrays his mood and relationship to the story. By the end of the film, he becomes a primary on-screen presence.

Nicholas contrasts Peter by eagerly jumping into the film and the frame. He regularly turns the camera to himself, using video diaries as refuge from the conflicts around him.

Please view Ntzu's music video online and contact us to see a taster from the film

Story of Music

Though the film is about a musician, we will not simply use Ntzu's music to score the film. His music will be used throughout the story, but almost exclusively as diegetic sound. A composed cinematic score, influenced by West African rhythms and instruments, will fill the background of the film and add to the drama as in a feature film.

Audience Appeal

Eat Songs is a story about friendships strained to the breaking point. The human relationships in the film are compelling and deeply engaging, following acquaintances into deep interdependent friendships that eventually explode in painful expressions of confused guilt and love. Audiences from any background will relate to and feel for the story of these three friends.

The story is particularly relevant at a time when Europeans are trying to find ways to deal with their relationship to the developing world. Recent movements including "Make Poverty History" have encouraged Europeans and Americans alike to question their responsibility toward Africans.

Ntzu preaches against the current system of aid to Africa that involves grants and loans with terms and conditions attached, believing that Africans need to build their futures using their own ideas and energy. His unhealthy dependence on Peter and Nicholas ironically contrasts his ideal and illustrates the difficult, unsolved question about how best the richer nations can help the developing world.

Similarly, Peter and Nicholas struggle to figure out how they can actually help, fearing that their mere presence may make it more difficult for Ntzu and his friends to achieve their dreams. The film demonstrates how every person on the planet is connected to every other and raises questions that affect us all.

Production Plan

We filmed six months in Ghana during three separate visits between April 2005 and February 2006. Shooting is now complete and we are in the process of completing a rough cut. We will make a TV-hour version as well as a feature-length version intended for festival and theatrical release. Expected delivery date is end of 2007.

The Directors

Peter Gerard's first documentary, Out of Breath – about teen life in his middle-America hometown – won the SOFA Film Festival Audience Award. He founded the Bargain Basement Film Festival, celebrating low-budget films. A multimedia visionary, he has made numerous short films, designed award-winning websites, and exhibited his photography in the US and Britain. His recent cutting-edge graffiti-history documentary Just to Get a Rep is receiving acclaim at festivals worldwide.

Nicholas Soldan's short documentary "Home" – exploring notions of home and sense of place in five European countries – won awards from Scottish Students on Screen and BAFTA (Scotland). His other projects have received critical acclaim, including "One>Zero" – an experimental film, installation, and web event – and "Decomposition" – an exhibition/event held in Edinburgh.

Accidental Media

While focussing on award-winning documentaries and short films, since 1997 Accidental Media has been involved in a variety of creative productions, including photography, music, book publishing, film festivals, and community education. Our latest feature documentary Just to Get a Rep has recently been picked up for distribution in the USA and broadcast in France. We have also produced informational and awareness videos for NGOs including Care International and UNHCR.

For more information or to see the taster video and full treatment,
please do not hesitate to contact us: