Category: Новини

With a flick of his brush, Ghanaian painter Daniel Anum Jasper armed actor Paul Newman with a pair of revolvers. Unfinished paintings of a bell-bottomed John Travolta and nunchuck-spinning Bruce Lee adorned the walls of his crammed Accra studio.

Jasper, a veteran movie poster designer, was finishing up one of the 1969 classic “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” commissioned by a foreign collector who had reached out over Instagram.

From the late 1970s to the 1990s, Ghana developed a tradition of advertising films with vibrant hand-painted posters. Local cinemas were flourishing in the West African country, and artists competed over who could entice the largest audience with their often gory, imaginative and eye-popping displays.

Jasper was a pioneer of the tradition and has been painting movie posters on repurposed flour sacks for the last 30 years. But the market for his work, which once had people clamoring for theater seats, has changed.

“People are no longer interested in going out to watch a movie when it can be watched from the comfort of their phones,” Jasper said.

“But there is a growing interest in owning these hand-painted posters internationally,” he added. “Now they hang them in private rooms or show them in exhibitions.”

With the rise of the internet, Ghana’s independent cinemas fell into obscurity. But Jasper’s work has gained appeal abroad, including in the United States, where the posters are valued as unique representations of a specific period in African art.

Western action flicks were mainstays of the tradition, as were Bollywood films and Chinese pictures. Many of the posters include paranormal elements and gratuitous violence even if the films had none, and physical features are wildly exaggerated.

Joseph Oduro-Frimpong, a professor in pop culture anthropology at Ghana’s Ashesi University, has several of Jasper’s paintings. He has collected the posters for years and has been known to buy up a closing video store’s entire supply.

He plans to display his posters at the Centre for African Popular Culture opening at the university later this year, and said he hopes people appreciate their historical significance.

“Of course there is an esthetic value to the posters, how crazy it is and all of that, but we use them to have a conversation with students,” he said.

“We tell them not to think about what they’re seeing now… [but] to think of these art forms as symbols of history that can tell their own stories.”
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After telling Russian President Vladimir Putin to “stop” on Saturday, Eintracht Frankfurt proceeded to frustrate Bayern Munich in their Bundesliga game until substitute Leroy Sané scored late for the league leaders.

Frankfurt prominently displayed the message “STOP IT, PUTIN!” all around its stadium before kickoff, just one of several pointed messages across the league against Russia’s ongoing invasion of its neighbor.

Sané’s 71st-minute goal was enough for a 1-0 win that stretched Bayern’s lead to nine points before second-place Borussia Dortmund visits Augsburg on Sunday.

Bayern controlled the match but found it difficult to break through against a well-organized Frankfurt team that also had good opportunities through Filip Kostic and Evan Ndicka.

Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann sent Sané on in the 67th, four minutes before Joshua Kimmich combined with Jamal Musiala and played a through ball for Sané to finally beat Kevin Trapp in the Frankfurt goal.

Trapp had done well to frustrate Bayern’s top goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski, who captained the team in place of the injured Manuel Neuer and wore a blue and yellow captain’s armband in support of Ukraine.

“We condemn the attack on Ukraine and on the lives and homes of innocent people,” the German soccer league said as it suggested clubs observe a minute’s silence before their games. “War is unacceptable in any form and incompatible with our values of sport.”

In Fürth, visiting Cologne and the home team lined up behind a banner in blue and yellow – the colors of the Ukrainian flag – with “STOP WAR” written in English and another message against war in German.

One fan at Union Berlin’s stadium held a sign showing a dove with the word “peace,” another at Leverkusen’s game painted blood on her face, and it seemed fans in all stadiums held Ukrainian flags or made some personal symbol against the war.

Earlier, second-division Schalke played its first game in 15 years without Russian energy giant Gazprom as main sponsor on the team jerseys. The Gelsenkirchen-based club had a 1-1 draw at Karlsruher SC.

Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels produced a brilliant save in injury time to preserve his team’s 2-2 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Gladbach also had a goal ruled out in injury time after VAR picked up on a foul before what would have been Matthias Ginter’s late winner.

The home team got off to a terrible start with Jonas Wind scoring in the sixth minute and Sebastiaan Bornauw making it 2-0 in the 33rd for Wolfsburg.

Marcus Thuram pulled one back before the break and was again involved when Wolfsburg defender Maxence Lacroix was sent off in the 70th for preventing the French forward’s clear goal chance with his hand.

Alassane Plea crossed for Breel Embolo to equalize in the 82nd and Casteels prevented worse for Wolfsburg.

Union Berlin bounced back from three games without a win or a goal since experienced forward Max Kruse left for Wolfsburg – with a 3-1 win at home over Mainz.

But the home fans’ patience was tested by a lengthy VAR check before Genki Haraguchi’s opener was allowed in the seventh minute. Sheraldo Becker scored a brilliant curling effort inside the right post in the 56th, then set up Taiwo Awoniyi to seal it in the 75th after Mainz had Dominik Kohr sent off on the hour-mark with his second yellow card in as many minutes. Delano Burgzorg scored a late consolation for the visitors.

City rival Hertha Berlin lost 3-0 at Freiburg to continue its dismal start to the year.

Bayer Leverkusen defeated Arminia Bielefeld 3-0 to consolidate third place, and last-place Fürth fought back to draw with Cologne 1-1.
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The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has suspended Zimbabwe’s and Kenya’s memberships over government interference in the countries’ football associations.

Zimbabwe authorities say they were acting against corruption, incompetence and sexual abuse. Zimbabwe’s football association denies the allegations, which FIFA says should be investigated without the government’s interference.

FIFA President Giovanni Infantino announced the suspensions at a press conference broadcast February 24 on the football governing body’s website.

“We had to suspend two of our members associations, Kenya and Zimbabwe, both for government interference in the activities of the football associations of these (countries). Associations are suspended from all football activities with immediate effect. They know what needs to be done for them to be readmitted or for the suspension to be lifted,” he said.

FIFA suspended the two countries’ associations after their governments pushed aside the associations’ leaders.

Kenya in November replaced the Football Kenya Federation with a caretaker committee while Zimbabwe’s Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) took control of the Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA).

FIFA has maintained that the allegations should be investigated internally rather than by governments taking over.

On Friday, Zimbabwe’s SRC chairperson Gerald Mlotshwa hit back at FIFA.

“It appears FIFA does not recognize the laws of Zimbabwe insofar as they relate to corruption and sexual harassment,” he said. “Its demands for reinstatement constitute an interference with statutory obligations of SRC as well as the judicial processes of the country.”

Officials in Zimbabwe suspended ZIFA in November on allegations of corruption, incompetence and sexual harassment.

Authorities accused ZIFA officials of diverting funds from FIFA and the government for personal use and of seeking sexual favors from female players and employees.

ZIFA’s suspended board deny all the allegations and in December called for a probe of the Sports and Recreation Commission, saying it was conducting a “witch hunt” under the guise of cleansing football.

A ZIFA lawyer declined to comment on FIFA’s suspension, saying they were still digesting the statements by the football governing body and the sports commission.

Zimbabwe sports journalist Hope Chizuzu said ZIFA’s suspended board was urging FIFA to suspend Zimbabwe.

“Now that that request has been granted, it is interesting to see what will become of the same because what this simply means is the suspended executive committee cannot operate,” Chizuzu said.

Zimbabwe sports commission’s Mlotshwa said the football association’s board will remain disbanded, and the SRC will continue to run it, despite FIFA’s suspension.

“We have a well-considered road map in Zimbabwe for the reform of football administration in Zimbabwe,” Mlotshwa said. “In the meantime, domestic football will continue as normal throughout the country with the support of the SRC. ZIFA executive committee and its general secretary will remain suspended. Football in country will be reformed for the benefit of all stakeholders, with or without the assistance of FIFA.”

While suspended, Kenya and Zimbabwe will not receive any funding from FIFA, and their football teams will not be allowed to play in any matches organized by FIFA or the Confederation of African Football.
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