Watch: NKWA – THE ANTHOLOGY by David Nicol-sey

Music video director, filmmaker, and cinematographer David Nicol-sey has released his anticipated anthology film “NKWA.”

The title is taken from the Akan word for “life,” a concept that extends beyond mere existence to suggest fullness, abundance, health, and continuity.

Executive produced by David Nicol-sey and John B. Eshun, and produced by LUUK NOW and North Production Studios, the 15‑minutes film is structured in four titled parts.

Rooted in Ghanaian culture, music, mood and monologue,” NKWA” operates as a visual allegory. Through the director’s lens the film reflects on the confrontations and realities that shape a person’s path: the search for self, desire and love, wealth, and the happiness required to keep moving through life.

Rather than presenting a conventional narrative, it uses culture, symbolism and fragmented storytelling to draw the viewer into an interior experience of what it means to live, to face doubt, to hold on to love, to question ambition, and to celebrate life.

Part 1: Sir Lanu

The anthology opens in a state of quiet unease. The character moves through a mental spiral marked by misery, emptiness, and the fear that life might end without ambition or direction. David Nicol-sey places them in a kind of void of the mind’s eye, where self‑doubt, hard truths, and ego circle without easy exit. The sequences feel less like staged drama than overheard soliloquies: the private dread of becoming a dead weight to oneself, the search for purpose, and the slow recognition that adulthood often arrives without a clear map. The mood is heavy and reflective, designed to pull the viewer into the same questions rather than simply observe them from a distance.

Part 2: Me dɔfo

The tone and light soften. Me dɔfo, an Akan term of endearment, signals a shift toward intimacy. Couples appear in moments of exchanging intentional vows, affectionate yearning, and hopeful promises of lasting companionship. Desire and love breathe here, the background score pulsing with a calm, steady rhythm. The sequence serenades viewers with nostalgia for the innocence and unmaterialistic unions of earlier generations compared to modern times. Nicol-sey dresses the scene with textures of an earlier Ghana: threaded hair braids, carefully kept men’s styles, African prints, and the feeling of old framed photographs of married couples.

Part 3: Wulomor

In Ga traditional religion and society, a Wulomor (Wulɔmɔ) serves as a sacred high priest, an intermediary between the people and the deities that protect the Ga township. David Nicol-sey reimagines this title, using it to tell a story about the elusive influence of wealth and the relentless pursuit of success. In today’s world, the man with gold makes the rules, while the less fortunate turn green with envy and greed. Moral decay abounds, pulling society toward a wide abyss.

Here, gambling slot machines become the central visual motif. Popular in some Ga communities, they depict humanity’s thirst for more, the dry delusions of winning, and the shortcuts people take in search of prosperity. It is a dog‑eat‑dog life: the lucky win, while the unlucky stand by in despair, hoping for aid. Instead, they are offered hollow assurances of “better luck next time.” Nicol-Sey masterfully shows how fortune can sometimes smile on the fool, even as others struggle. The gome drums and older sea rhythms drive the tension forward, underscoring the chaos.

The sequence ends with a brief hint at reliance on faith, religion, or perhaps a higher power to intervene. It is suggestive, reminding us that when human effort fails, people often turn to the supernatural for hope.

Part 4: Ankos

The final chapter can be aptly described as the “Life of the Party,” a sequence that celebrates cultural joy and identity through the vibrant Ghanaian festival Ankos. In this annual celebration, brass bands and masked stilt performers parade the streets in jubilant procession, most often at the close of the year. David Nicol-sey’s vision elevates the festival into a symbolic meditation on Ghanaian culture, where individuals, students, and even corporations embrace festivity as a release from the weight of long weeks and demanding years.

Strangers, families, and neighbors gather side by side, united in music and dance, celebrating the simple pleasures of life together. The director enriches the sequence with narration that explains the traditions of Ankos: the meaning behind the masks, the significance of the dance movements, and, above all, the irresistible energy of the sound. The result is a vivid portrait of communal joy, a reminder that beyond life’s burdens, there is rhythm, laughter, and togetherness.

Watch NKWA – THE ANTHOLOGY by David Nicol-sey  Below