Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante is a Ghanaian film actress, producer and director, and philanthropist. Her latest film, Silver Rain, was nominated for “Best Film in West Africa” and “Best costume” for 2015 in the Africa Magic viewer’s choice awards (AMVCA) and also 2015 “Best Overall Film In Africa”. In 1999, Asante started the production house Eagle House Productions. That same year she also started “Save Our Women International”, a non-profit entity focussing on female sexual education and launched an innovation that makes short movies for the mobile phone in Africa in 2014 called Mobile Flicks. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of Black Star International Film Festival. Eagle Productions has helped train some actors and actresses in Ghana through its training arm, the Eagle Drama Workshop.
EARLY LIFE
Asante was born in Ghana and is the second of five children. She holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA) and a Master’s in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard Kennedy School of Government. She also holds two Bachelor’s degrees. She graduated from University of Cape Coast, and also graduated from National Film and Television Institute.
CAREER
Asante started her acting career at the age of 17 and was awarded ‘Best Actress’ in Ghana in 2001. She later went to the National Film and Television institute of Ghana, where she got her first class honors in Film Directing. She also holds a diploma from the New York Film Academy and an MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Some of the films in which she has acted are Twin Lovers, Fresh Blood, Tears of Blood, Ripples, and Thread of Ananse. She appeared in the 1996 film Deadly Voyage as Albert Mensah’s wife. She has written, directed and produced shows on Ghana television, such as Obaby, a dating show, and Secrets, a drama series for which she is also executive producer. In the last quarter of 2014 she completed work on her first feature film, Silver Rain. She owns the Eagle Drama Workshop.
Asante is the editor of the entertainment magazine Entertainment Today and its companion television programme. She is also a blogger for The Huffington Post.
She was the organizer of the Voice Of Africa Forum, aimed at closing the gap between media entrepreneurs and investments, and an active participant in the Africa Media Initiative. She mentors at the MIT “Legatum Center”. Juliet served as president of the Ghana chapter of Women in Film and Television International.
HONOURS
- The Hollywood Reporter′s “Next Generation International TV” (2009)
- The ‘”World of A Difference 100 Most Impactful Women” by the Alliance for Women (TIAW) (2009)
- Ghana’s Assoc. of Women Entrepreneur leaders (2009)
- Best Actress Award of Ghana (2009)