Culture
Fred Kuwornu’s ‘We Were Here’ Documentary on Black Africans in Renaissance Europe Accepted For 2026 Oscars
When Italian-Ghanaian filmmaker and historian Fred Kudjo Kuwornu set out to challenge Europe’s selective memory of the Renaissance, he knew the work would be disruptive.
What he didn’t know was that his documentary, We Were Here: The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, would make its way into the race for the 98th Academy Awards.
The film has now been officially accepted for consideration in the Best Documentary Feature category for the 2026 Oscars, a milestone for both African historical storytelling and global cinema.
For Kuwornu, whose work has long centered on recovering suppressed histories, this project is personal.
“Among all artists with Ghanaian heritage in this awards cycle, I am the only one whose work is currently in consideration,” he wrote in a recent note to followers on Instagram. “My documentary brings back the stories that Europe tried to forget.”
Rewriting the Renaissance
We Were Here excavates a rarely acknowledged truth: Africans were not mere spectators — nor solely enslaved laborers — in 15th and 16th century Europe. They were ambassadors, soldiers, scholars, courtiers, artisans, diplomats, and religious figures, shaping cultural and political life from Venice to Lisbon, Florence to Paris.
The documentary traces the lives of figures whose stories have been buried for centuries:
- Alessandro de’ Medici, Europe’s first head of state of African ancestry.
- Juan Latino, the first Black professor in European university history.
- Ne Vunda, the African ambassador to Rome, buried in the historic Santa Maria Maggiore.
- João de Panasco, the African knight immortalized in the King’s Fountain.
- Benedict the Moor, the son of enslaved parents who became a figure of veneration across the Americas.
Through archival work, art analysis, and expert interviews, Kuwornu reframes the Renaissance as a multiracial, multicultural epoch, rather than the homogenous image often taught in textbooks.
A Cultural Intervention With Global Momentum
Debuting at the 2024 Venice Biennale inside the Central Pavilion, the film has since been embraced by universities, museums, cultural institutions, and diaspora scholars across three continents. It has become part of academic conversations about race, migration, identity, and pre-colonial African-European exchanges.
Its Oscar consideration has amplified its reach — and its message.
Historians say the film arrives at a time when Europe is being forced to reckon with monuments, memory, and long-silenced histories. Kuwornu’s project serves as a corrective, arguing that a fuller understanding of Europe’s past necessarily includes Africans whose contributions have been neglected or erased.
Why This Matters
The Oscars often overlook African historical narratives unless framed through slavery, colonialism, or conflict. We Were Here breaks that pattern by presenting Africans as active agents of political and cultural life in pre-modern Europe.
It challenges audiences — in Europe and the African diaspora — to see the Renaissance not as a fortress of white European exceptionalism, but as a meeting point of civilizations.
For Kuwornu, this is not just filmmaking. It’s restitution.
His documentary, he wrote, “reconstructs an erased legacy that connects Europe, Africa, and the Americas.”
A Historic Moment for African Storytelling
Whether the film secures a nomination or not, its presence in the Oscar race marks a powerful moment: a global acknowledgment that the stories of Black Europeans in the Renaissance are not footnotes — they are history.
And after centuries of silence, they are finally being heard through a lens wide enough to include them.
Festivals & Events
Accra’s Pool Party Brings Music, Style and Detty December Energy
When December arrives in Ghana, the city of Accra transforms into a meeting point for music lovers, returning members of the diaspora and travellers eager to experience the country’s famous festive spirit.
Adding to the season’s excitement is Detty Splash Pool Party, a high-energy gathering that brings music, poolside fun and social connections together at Bella Afrikana Beach Club.
Organised by ABROKYIRE BOYZ, Detty Splash forms part of the wider Detty December experience, a festive season that has grown into a major attraction for Ghanaians abroad and international visitors.
The period is known for concerts, nightlife, beach outings and reunions, offering a lively way to reconnect with Ghana through entertainment and shared experiences.
At Detty Splash, expect a soundtrack of Afrobeats, Amapiano and international hits, with DJs Schemes, Wallpaper, Milzy, Chris, Misty and Teabee among the featured performers. Hosts King Duke, K Prince Global and Kwasi Beast will help keep the crowd entertained as the party unfolds through the night.
Beyond the music, guests can enjoy the poolside atmosphere, mingle with fellow revellers and opt for VIP tables or cabanas for a more exclusive experience. Packages are available for groups of different sizes, making the event suitable for friends travelling together or visitors looking to celebrate in style.
For tourists, Detty Splash offers a taste of Accra’s contemporary nightlife and the social energy that makes December a popular time to visit Ghana.
For locals and returning diaspora members, it is an opportunity to reconnect with friends, enjoy familiar sounds and become part of the city’s festive rhythm.
The event listing contains conflicting date and time details: the heading states December 30, while the description advertises December 27, with different finishing times. Visitors should confirm the correct schedule before making plans.
For anyone planning a festive-season visit, Detty Splash promises a night of music, dancing and poolside excitement in Accra.
Festivals & Events
Movie by the Beach: Accra’s Tuesday Nights Get a Cinematic Twist
Imagine sinking your feet into warm sand, listening to the Atlantic Ocean roll towards the shore, and watching a film beneath a sky full of stars.
At Afrikana Beach House in Accra, this simple pleasure becomes the heart of Movie by the Beach, a weekly event offering a refreshing way to spend a Tuesday evening.
Organised by Bella Group, the experience takes place every Tuesday at 8 p.m., bringing cinema and seaside relaxation together in one inviting setting.
While traditional cinemas offer dark rooms and rows of seats, this beachfront gathering encourages guests to kick off their shoes, settle into the sand and enjoy a movie with the ocean breeze as their companion.
The event also reflects a broader appeal of Accra’s social scene, where food, entertainment and outdoor experiences increasingly provide opportunities for friends, couples and visitors to connect.

Ghana has a strong storytelling tradition, expressed through oral histories, music, theatre and film.
Although Movie by the Beach is not presented as a traditional cultural festival, its shared viewing experience offers another way for people to enjoy stories together in a relaxed communal setting.
Guests can expect a different movie each week, giving regular attendees a reason to return. The evening includes pizza, popcorn and a soft drink in the ticket price of GH₵250 per person.
Combined with ocean views and the sound of the waves, these familiar cinema treats take on a different appeal outdoors.
For international visitors, the event offers a relaxed addition to an Accra itinerary, particularly for those seeking an evening beyond the city’s restaurants and conventional nightlife.
Residents, meanwhile, can use it as an opportunity to catch up with friends, plan a date or enjoy a midweek escape without leaving the capital.
Whether you arrive with a group, a partner or on your own, the appeal lies in the combination of film, food and the sea.
With screenings every Tuesday at 8 p.m., Movie by the Beach invites Accra to trade the usual evening routine for a little cinematic magic under the stars.
Reels & Social Media Highlights
Nana Akua Addo, Dumelo, and KFC: What Ghana Was Actually Talking About on Social Media
Ghana’s timeline on Wednesday, October 7, 2026, was less a conversation than a collision of worlds.
In one scroll, you could move from a domestic violence scandal tearing through showbiz to a politician’s proposal that churches build factories — all while KFC Ghana’s 15th-anniversary hashtag racked up more tweets than any other topic in the country .
The day’s most visceral story remained the Nana Akua Addo domestic dispute. Viral videos showing the fashion icon with a battered face and blood-stained clothes had erupted the previous day, and by Wednesday the fallout had deepened .
Her lawyers confirmed the footage was “leaked without consent,” while her husband’s team countered with their own video alleging he was the victim of an attack dating back to 2021.
For Ghanaians, it wasn’t just celebrity gossip — it was a raw conversation about domestic abuse, privacy, and whether the children caught in the footage deserved protection from the very platforms amplifying their pain.
Then came John Dumelo. The actor-turned-MP posted a Facebook proposal suggesting ten churches pool resources to establish an agro-processing factory in the Ashanti, Volta, or North East regions.
The post exploded — over 700 comments within three hours, many asking why politicians weren’t taking the lead themselves instead of outsourcing development to religious bodies.
It was a debate about who should build Ghana, wrapped in the familiar tension between faith and state.
Meanwhile, the algorithm delivered its usual absurdism: a Ghanaian man went viral for “repairing” torn cedi notes , and the visually impaired Shatta Wale fan whose ShattaFest moment had melted hearts days earlier was still circulating in group chats .
What connected these threads was something distinctly Ghanaian: the refusal to silo emotion. Grief and outrage scroll alongside humour and distraction.
A country arguing about domestic violence in the morning can pivot to debating church factories by afternoon — not because it doesn’t care, but because the timeline demands it.
In Ghana’s digital culture, everything is urgent, everything is personal, and nothing stays quiet for long.
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