Ghanaian Actor Abraham Attah Wins ‘Best Young Actor’ Award at Venice Film Festival

Certified thespian 14-year-old Abraham Attah (pictured) recently won the distinctive Marcello Mastroianni Best Young Actor Award at the Venice Film Festival for his leading role in film “Beasts of No Nation.”

SEE ALSO: AfrikCan Festival To Interwine Creativity & Positive Spirit of Continent

Keep Up With Face2Face Africa On Facebook!

Attah, who has no prior acting experience, was haphazardly scouted for “Beasts” in Accra while skipping out on school. “We were playing football on our school field when a White man came and said, ‘We need some boys for a movie.’ We went to a TV station in Ghana for an audition and…I was cast.”

Formerly a street vendor, Attah, who acts beside award-winning actor Idris Elba (pictured), quickly adapted to his new role as an actor.

“Beasts” director Cary Fukunaga, who is known for his work for his Emmy-award-winning work in “Sin Nombre” and “True Detective,” says of Attah, “[He had] zero film experience, little education…but he became a somewhat professional actor, which was astounding to watch.”

In “Beasts,” Attah plays the character of 9-year-old “Agu” who is forced to run away from home due to a civil war.

“Agu” gets caught up in a factional rebel unit and is transformed into a child soldier whose group is led by a nefarious warlord (Elba).

Watch the “Beasts of No Nation” trailer here:

“Beasts” is based off of Nigerian author Uzodinma Iweala‘s 2005 eponymous novel and is one of the first film offerings of Netflix, an on-demand streaming media company.

The film will become available on Netflix and in select movie theaters on October 16th.

SEE ALSO: Dieudonne Senato: Africa’s Avant Garde Hair Designer You Should Know!