Gladstone collection 3: Northern Territories, Ghana Part 3 c.1961

Filmmaker: Wilma Gladstone General description In this film, Gladstone and her friend Joyce Trott record a driving tour they made of the northern and eastern regions of Ghana. The footage shows a variety of everyday scenes depicting roof thatching, children learning and playing at school, various markets and children weaving cloth as well as scenes from the Independence Day celebrations in Ghana. Detailed description Ferry crossing the Volta River at Yeji Clip shows trucks driving off a car float ferry with side tug on one side of the river while other vehicles wait to drive onto the ferry. Men and women walk onto the ferry as well, including a young bread-seller balancing a large tray of bread loaves on his head. Scene switches aboard the ferry itself as it crosses the river, closing in on the opposite riverbank. Shots of cars and people waiting on the opposite side. Boys riding a donkey at Navrongo Two boys ride a donkey bareback around some trees, stopping to be photographed by a European woman. Scene switches to a string of laden donkeys trotting past on a nearby track with their drivers. Market at Bolgatanga Extensive footage of the bustling outdoor market at Bolgatanga, with shots of baskets and woven hats for sale, the smock section with smocks hanging from trees, grain and vegetable sellers, cooked foodstuffs, pot sellers, a tailor working a treadle sewing machine and a cobbler mending shoes. The market is very busy with a variety of buyers and sellers in an array of dress. Many of the stallholders are women with small children. Also, brief shots of Joyce, strolling in the market with a Ghanaian man. Funeral dance near Bolgatanga Brief footage of several men dancing, armed with knives, and bows and arrows. A village is visible in the background. The dance appears to have a strong narrative or story-telling element to it. Boys strip-weaving at Pusiga Two boys sit outdoors beneath makeshift shelters, weaving long cotton strips on pit treadle looms constructed from branches and logs. There are a few onlookers and a village with round mud-walled houses is in the background. The boys work quickly and competently. Close-ups of the boys' hand and foot movements; also, brief footage of a boy sitting on the ground spinning thread with a rudimentary spindle and wheel. Scene shifts to boys operating an upright loom outdoors. The boys wear smart shirts and shorts and there is a solid masonry building in the background. There are two boys to a loom and their movements are not always sure as they tread the loom, suggesting that they are part of a school or training scheme. Cut to shots of whitewashed round houses with thatched roofs and a man carrying a pile of wood on his head amongst the houses. Men on horseback.