Sakawa provides a behind-the-scenes look at internet scamming in Ghana, where con artists cheat wealthy Westerners as a means of escaping poverty. Sakawa is a Ghanaian word for internet fraud schemes that are often combined with religious rituals. As the film shows, there’s a treasure trove of information to be found in the poisonous e-waste in Ghana – it’s a relatively simple matter to open up discarded hard drives and gain access to photos and the personal details of their former owners. Equipped with a name and address, almost anybody can be found online. Sakawa documents these fraudulent activities from the view of Belgian-Ghanaian director Ben Asamoah, who portrays the perpetrators with more sympathy than might be expected.
CPH:DOX (2019)
DOKfest Munich (2019)
Edinburgh (2019)
IDFA 2018 (2018)
SXSW (2019)
Availability &
Screening Time:
Director(s):
Ben Asamoah
Country:
Belgium | Ghana | Netherlands
Year:
2018
Running Time:
82 min
Language(s):
English
