I go by the name, Akua Abedi-Boafo. I grew up in East London where I attended Brampton Manor Academy for secondary school. It’s also where my love for acting started in Year 7. Since the age of 12, the only thing I knew was that I wanted to be an actress, however, due to the creative industry being looked down upon, I didn’t like expressing my passion boldly because of fear of not being taken seriously.
I went on to study English literature, Philosophy with Theology and Sociology at St Angela’s Ursuline Sixth Form in 2015. I first started acting in theatre, and although I didn’t take drama for my A- levels, I was still taking part in school theatre projects and also projects out of school. My first project I did, moving from theatre to camera was a web series in 2016 called ‘It’s A Cycle’ on YouTube.
I then began to do extra work as a way to network with people and to get on-set experience. The first extra job I did was in 2017 where I had a cameo and also appeared in the trailer of the movie ‘The Kid Who Would Be King’. Going on to be a part of many other movies, adverts & music videos such as Mission Impossible, Mc Donald’s, Love and Hip Hop Hollywood and many others. Including song by Sarkodie X Idris Ebla & Donaeo – Party & Bulls#!t.
In the year of 2017, I went to university in Leicester, De Montfort university, studying English literature and Drama. This is when I started writing and became Kwiyah Writes. I launched my blog page Kwiyah Writes in October 2017 with my first ever blog for Black history month, titled ‘Happy Black History Month!’.
It was funny because I didn’t actually know I was good at writing, even though I was studying English Literature. I only started my blog to get things off my mind about social issues. Due to my sociological background, and being a thinker in general, social issues are something I have always thought about and spoke about with my friends. I wanted to help others with the knowledge and opinions I had on different topics, for example, Black men and gang culture, the negative impact of social media, self love and many more.
My most read blog was the last blog I did in 2019 called ‘Don’t Be A Slave To Social Media’, getting 3000 reads within a week, a follow up from the first blog I did about social media in 2017 called ‘Social Media Isn’t Real Life’. The next blog I’m working on right now which is hopefully coming out October 2020 is going to be called ‘Christianity As An African Spirituality and The Black Hebrew’. Where I will be speaking on exactly what the title states so look out for it!
Apart from having my own blog, I have written for many online magazines since 2017 and aspire to have my own in the near future.
I transferred universities for second year in 2018 to Kingston University to be closer to the acting industry. Where I then signed my first contract for modelling and acting in the beginning of 2019. I also began to write my own scripts and became a screenwriter, which was always the plan for me. Seeing how hard it was as a Black woman to fully break into the film industry, I told myself that regardless I was going to do what I love, and aspired to act, write and direct my own films/shows. With no experience with directing and it only being a dream, later that year in August 2019 I moved to California, Los Angeles for a year abroad and attended California State University where my filmmaking started!
Moving to Los Angeles was an amazing journey and I would advise any creative to go there to grow in their craft. This is where I was blessed enough to make my dream come to life as I studied, Directing, Acting and Screenwriting. As well as subjects like, English, Africana studies, Real estate, Psychology and Music.
September 2020 I directed my first ever music video which will be coming out in 2021. Stay alert for it.
Growing up and living in London is definitely hard as there are so many obstacles placed in front of me due to the colour of my skin. In every aspect, whether that be education, the health sector or the workplace I am at a disadvantage by default especially with having an African full name.
September 2020 I directed my first ever music video which will be coming out in 2021.
“Growing up in London is definitely hard as there is so many obstacles placed in front of me due to the colour of my skin. In every aspect whether that be education, the health sector or the workplace I am disadvantaged by default especially with having a very African full name”.
That’s one of many reasons as to why I love travelling back home to Ghana. Ghana brings me peace and makes me feel free. I’m not a black woman there, I’m just a woman. I feel a part of the people. There is definitely still a cultural difference being a British-Ghanaian, although it isn’t something to complain about as I was raised heavily on my Ghanaian culture, thankfully. I do hope to move to Ghana for a bit so I can get away from the noise of London and have a peace of mind while writing the projects I have. Writing takes time and needs inspiration. Besides blogging and screenwriting, my first aspiration for writing was to publish books and become an author. In the next 5 years I hope to have published at least 1 book.
One of my main goals I want to get started with next year is to be able to bridge the gap between creatives in Ghana, Los Angeles and London with a production company I will be launching soon. I know the struggle of not being able to create art you love because of people looking at who you’ve worked with rather than your actual talent. So I want to create a safe place where people can just create with others and across borders.
4 of my many inspirations in the film industry are Amma Asante, Idris Elba, Leticia Wright and Malcom Kamulete! Many coming from similar backgrounds as myself but still grinded to make things happen for themselves, making me believe that I can.
Follow my business page on instagram which is launching in 2021, aiming on bringing a taste of Africa to the diaspora through fashion: Manifest Her London.
