Blitz Bazawule
Birthdate: Apr 19, 1982
Birthplace: Blitz Bazawule
Blitz Bazawule (birthname: Samuel Bazawule) is the first Ghanaian filmmaker to make the jump to Hollywood. After eleven years as a recording and performing rap artist, Bazawule expanded his artistic portfolio by making his first short film, Native Sun (2011), and it was six years until he made his second, Diasporadical Trilogia (2016), which he made as an accompaniment to his fourth studio album.
Bazawule made his feature debut as director/writer/producer/composer of the Ghanaian drama, The Burial of Kojo (2018), premiering at the Urban World Film Festival (where it won best narrative feature in the world cinema lineup), and released via Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY company and Netflix.
Bazawule’s second feature as director/producer was Black Is King (2020)—designed as a “visual companion” to Beyoncé’s album, The Lion King: The Gift, which she curated from the soundtrack for The Lion King (2019). Like The Burial of Kojo, Black Is King was also released on streaming (in this case, Disney+), but was an unusual collaboration with co-directors Beyoncé, Emmanuel Adjei, Pierre Debusschere, Jenn Nkiru, Ibra Ake, Dikayl Rimmasch, and Jake Nava, and with 20 others credited as producer.
Blitz Bazawule’s first feature as director that was theatrically released (by Warner Bros.) was the $100-million-budgeted The Color Purple (2023), screenwriter Marcus Gardley’s adaptation of the Broadway musical version of Alice Walker’s novel of the same title, starring Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Fantasia Barrino, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Louis Gossett Jr., Jon Batiste, and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and landing Golden Globe nominations for Barrino and Brooks.
Personal Details
Blitz Bazawule was born and raised in Accra, Ghana, by his parents. Bazawule has three other siblings, of whom he’s the second youngest. Bazawule attended and graduated from Achimota School in Ghana in 2000, and then attended Kent State University, where he earned a B.A. in Business Administration. Simultaneous to his studies, Bazawule built his career as a rap artist known as Blitz the Ambassador.
Filmography
director
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- 2023 | The Color Purple
The Color Purple
A woman faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.
Some Facts About Blitz Bazawule
What’s in a Name?: Blitz Bazawule has changed his name in film credits as director/writer/producer several times, from his rap moniker as “Blitz the Ambassador” for his first short film, Native Sun, to his birthname Samuel Bazawule for his second short, Diasporadical Trilogia, to a hybrid name—Sam Blitz Bazawule—for his debut feature, The Burial of Kojo. He adopted his current screen credit name for his TV directorial debut on the series, Cherish the Day (2020).
Oscar Fame: Bazawule gained fame as a filmmaker in Ghana as being the country’s first filmmaker to make a feature shortlisted for the Academy Awards (then-titled) best foreign-language feature category.
