John Dumelo Nearly Lost His Life On Set Through One Silly Mistake, Leila Djansi Shares Story

• Actor and politician John Dumelo once escaped death by stabbing following a mistake during a movie shoot
• According to Leila Djansi, a production designer gave out a real knife for a stabbing scene in which Dumelo was featured
• Djansi shared the story as part of a recent criticism of the Ghanaian movie industry, which she described as a joke

Ghanaian actor-turned-politician John Dumelo could have easily lost his life during the filming of one of the many movies he has starred in.

According to movie director Leila Djansi, Dumelo was nearly stabbed with a knife on a movie set due to the negligence of a production designer.

In a scathing critique of the Ghanaian film industry, which she described as a "joke," Djansi detailed how divine intervention prevented a potentially fatal accident when a production designer supplied a real knife for a stabbing scene between Dumelo and actress Vanessa Williams.

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"Should I talk about the production designer who passed a real knife to an actor for a stabbing scene? My God. If it wasn't for divine intervention, Vanessa Williams would have stabbed John Dumelo with a real knife that day. How is this not a joke?" she questioned on Facebook.

While Djansi did not specifically name the production, industry insiders believe the incident occurred during filming of the 2018 TV series 40 & Single, which aired on StarTimes Adepa TV. In the series, Dumelo played Charles, fiancé to Williams' character Bertha Brown.

The filmmaker did not stop there, highlighting several other instances of unprofessionalism she claimed to have encountered while working in Ghana's film industry. These included an assistant director who decided to take a nap mid-shoot and crew members demanding to pause filming so they could watch a football match.

Djansi referenced international filmmaker Cary Fukunaga's similar complaints about working in Ghana and mentioned a wardrobe department that refused to provide outfits for actors with smaller roles.

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Contrasting these experiences with her work abroad, Djansi shared a positive memory from the Dominican Republic:

"Compare that to my production in the Dominican Republic, where the props guy showed me eight different watches, properly arranged, for me to choose JUST ONE, for the scene. Eight options. I cried tears of joy. Not because of the watches, but because someone actually cared about the details."

See Leila Djansi's post below:

Fans agree with Leila Djansi's criticisms

The post by Leila Djansi has garnered many reactions on social media. Most of the reactions seemed to agree with her that the movie industry was sick and need interventions to heal. Below are some of the reactions compiled by YEN.com.gh.

Sally Ọlámidé Hawk had some criticisms of the movie directors, too:

"You forgot to touch on how our own directors and producers would take money budgeted for a talent from an executive producer and not pay the talent at all. The excuses are enormous."

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Dzansi Makafui called for change in the industry:

"This is a serious conversation that people in the industry must have. @leila Jewel Djansi, it's the love for the industry that is making you speak up. The only way to address this is to get people to change, and there's no better way to change than to teach…"

Jeffrey Kafui Adiasani was concerned about collaborations in the industry:

"Ghanaians don't know how to collaborate. Everyone wants the title for themselves. That is the major cause of our troubles. With good collaboration, u can shoot top notch films on a low budget."

Catherine Michelle was not interested in local films:

"As an ordinary person, I have never found our local films interesting, apart from a few."

Mahama names Dumelo as Deputy Agric Minister

Earlier, YEN.com.gh reported that President John Mahama had released a list of 13 deputy ministerial nominees, including John Dumelo.

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The actor-turned-politician was sent to the Food and Agriculture Ministry to be deputy to Eric Opoku.

While Dumelo's nomination excited many of his fans and Ghanaians who believe he will excel in the role, Bishop Daniel Obinim disagreed with the appointment.

Dumelo has already attended vetting with the Appointments Committee of Parliament, and he is awaiting to be approved and sworn in by the president.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh