| Sean Graham | |
| Birth Date: | 26 June 1920 |
| Birth Name: | Hans Friedrich Hermann Isay |
| Birth Place: | Berlin, Germany |
| Death Place: | London, England |
| Nationality: | German |
| Years Active: | 1951–1976 |
| Occupation: | Director, Producer, Writer |
Hans Friedrich Hermann Isay (26 June 1920 – 5 October 2015), popularly known by his stage name Sean Graham, was a German-born Ghanaian filmmaker and former British Army officer.[1] In cinema, he is best known for directing the critics acclaimed Ghana films The Boy Kumasenu, Jaguar and Two Weeks in September.[2] [3] [4] [5]
Graham was born on 26 June 1920 in Berlin, Germany. He fled with his family to Britain in 1933, and was educated at Peterhouse, Cambridge where he studied law. At the beginning of the Second World War, his name endangering him, he changed it to "Sean Graham". He then worked as an interpreter with British army intelligence, gradually attaining the rank of lieutenant-colonel.
He died on 5 October 2015 in London at the age of 95.
After the war ended, Graham became a film trainee along with Paul Rotha at Elstree studios. In 1948, he moved to Ghana and contributed to uplift the Ghanaian film industry during a span of ten years. In 1952, he directed his film debut with The Boy Kumasenu, which was nominated for the BAFTA Best Film.[6] [7] Then he moved to Tunisia for a brief period and returned to work in film in London. In 1957, he directed and produced a documentary Freedom for Ghana which received critics acclaim. Then in 1967, his film Two Weeks in September was screened in many film festivals worldwide.[8] He lived and worked in Turkey making films for some years before finally returning to London.
In 2015, Government of Ghana conferred a State honor on Graham due to his pioneering work on Ghanaian cinema.[9]
He was also the author of three novels: A Surfeit of Sun (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1964) and Hippo's Coup (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1968), both set in Africa; and The French Odalisque based on the life of Aimée du Buc de Rivéry (Orbach & Chambers, 2009).
| Year | Film | Role | Genre | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | The Boy Kumasenu | Director, writer, Producer | Film | ||
| 1956 | Mr. Mensah Builds a House | Director | Short film | ||
| 1957 | Jaguar | Director, writer | Short film | ||
| 1957 | Freedom for Ghana | Director, producer | Documentary | ||
| 1963 | The European Economic Community | Director, writer | Documentary short | ||
| 1967 | Two Weeks in September | Writer | Film | ||
| 1974 | The Zoo Gang | Actor | TV series |