Connect with us

Culture

Fred Kuwornu’s ‘We Were Here’ Documentary on Black Africans in Renaissance Europe Accepted For 2026 Oscars

Published

on

Fred Kuwornu

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

Watch a Film Under the Stars at Afrikana Beach House Every Thursday

Published

on

By

As the sun slips beneath the Atlantic horizon and the sound of waves replaces the city’s rush, Afrikana Beach House transforms into an open-air cinema where films meet sea breeze. Every Thursday at 8:00 p.m., Movie by the Beach invites guests to swap crowded theatres for sand beneath their feet and a night beneath the stars.

Organised by Bella Group, the weekly experience reflects a growing trend in Accra’s social scene: creating spaces where entertainment, food and community come together in memorable ways.

While Ghana has long embraced communal storytelling through folklore, music and public gatherings, outdoor cinema offers a contemporary twist on that tradition. Instead of gathering around a fireside, audiences gather along the shoreline, sharing laughter, suspense and conversation as each week’s different film unfolds.

The evening is designed to feel effortless. Guests receive pizza, popcorn and a soft drink with their GH₵250 ticket, making it easy to settle into the relaxed beachfront atmosphere before the opening scenes begin.

The ocean breeze, moonlit coastline and casual setting encourage visitors to linger long after the credits roll, turning the event into more than just a movie screening.

For travellers, Movie by the Beach offers a refreshing way to experience Accra beyond its museums, markets and nightlife. It reveals another side of the city—one where creativity and hospitality blend naturally against the backdrop of the coast.

For locals, it is an opportunity to reclaim the middle of the week with friends, family or a date night that feels distinctly different from the usual routine.

Whether you arrive with a group or come alone, the shared experience quickly becomes part of the evening’s charm. Every Thursday brings a new story to the screen, but the atmosphere remains constant: warm, welcoming and unmistakably Accra.

If you’re looking for a memorable night where cinema meets the ocean, Afrikana Beach House has already reserved the best seat in the house—the one under the stars.

Continue Reading

Reels & Social Media Highlights

Cedi Fears, Courtroom Drama, and a Viral Escape: Inside Ghana’s Wildest Social Media Day

Published

on

By

If Ghana’s social media were a movie, Thursday, August 27, 2026, would be a high-stakes political thriller with a few unexpected scenes of viral heroism.

The digital streets of Accra and Kumasi were ablaze, with the nation’s timeline perfectly capturing a public mood that is simultaneously anxious, proud, and fiercely skeptical.

The day’s most explosive topic was pure political drama. Parliament’s Appointments Committee descended into chaos as the Minority Caucus staged a dramatic walkout, boycotting the vetting of three Supreme Court nominees.

The bone of contention was a “rushed” timetable, with Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin arguing that Ghanaians deserved adequate time for scrutiny.

The heated exchange, characterized by fiery accusations and a firm dismissal from the committee Chairman, quickly became the defining moment of the day, turning X into a digital courtroom where citizens debated due process and political posturing.

Amidst the political heat, a heartwarming story of heroism provided a powerful counter-narrative. In a viral video, youth from Aboso were seen carrying a police officer, Inspector Hance, shoulder-high through the town.

This rare public celebration of law enforcement came after the Inspector’s relentless efforts to help douse a blazing fire, prompting online calls for his immediate promotion by the IGP.

The image of a police officer being paraded as a hero rather than a villain resonated deeply, offering a glimpse of the respect Ghanaians have for genuine public service.

However, the economic reality kept the mood grounded. As Parliament argued and a hero was celebrated, anxieties over the economy spiked with news that the Ghana cedi is expected to weaken further against the dollar next week.

Traders cited a strong buildup of unmet corporate demand for foreign currency, a signal that quickly turned the trending discussions towards the rising cost of living.

This “Cedi panic” served as a sobering backdrop to the day’s drama, reminding everyone of the pressing financial pressures many are facing.

From the corridors of power to the streets of Aboso, Ghana’s social media on this day proved it is the ultimate mirror of the national soul—a place where politics, celebration, and economic fears collide in real-time.

Continue Reading

Arts and GH Heritage

The Tower of Discarded Things: How Teshie Turns Letting Go into a Festival Ritual

Published

on

By

Behind the towering Jachum lies one of Homowo’s quietest lessons: every community must decide what it is ready to leave behind.

For years, the towering Jachum that appeared along Teshie’s shoreline during Homowo carried an air of mystery. From a distance, it could easily be mistaken for a sacred idol.

Built from old shoes, broken furniture, chamber pots, battered doors, and discarded household items, it looked less like a festival installation and more like an object demanding caution.

The surprise is that it represents the exact opposite.

In Teshie, one of the historic Ga communities of Accra, the Jachum is assembled as a symbolic collection of everything the town chooses to reject. It is a public act of release, transforming unwanted objects into a shared statement that some burdens belong in the past.

The ritual reaches its climax after Kplejoo, when the Jachum is carried toward the sea before the community gathers for Tsesebumon, another significant Homowo observance. The ocean becomes the final destination, receiving the towering bundle in a gesture that signals renewal rather than destruction.

That symbolism feels strikingly modern. Long before conversations about decluttering, emotional healing, or fresh starts became fashionable, the Ga people had already embedded a communal version of those ideas into one of their most important festivals.

Homowo itself commemorates resilience after famine, celebrating abundance with rituals, drumming, dancing, and the sprinkling of kpokpoi, the traditional corn meal offered in remembrance of ancestors and gratitude for survival.

The Jachum adds another layer to that story. It reminds us that prosperity is not only about welcoming new blessings but also about making room for them.

Seen from afar, it can appear intimidating. Seen up close, it becomes one of Teshie’s most profound cultural teachings: sometimes a community heals by deciding together what it will no longer carry.

Continue Reading

Trending