African Film Archive

Sankofa

1993 — Haile Gerima — Ethiopia, Ghana, Burkina Faso, United States, United Kingdom, Germany

feature · drama · video-wave

While in Ghana for a fashion shoot, a Black American model is pulled back in time to a slave plantation in Haile Gerima's drama, a film he self-funded and self-distributed after mainstream distributors passed on it, leading to two years of sold-out grassroots screenings in the United States.

Fun fact: Sankofa is an Akan word meaning to go back and reclaim what was left behind, taken directly as the film's title and theme.

Notes: Ethiopian director; co-production credits include Ghana National Commission on Culture, Burkina Faso's DiProCi, and German broadcasters NDR/WDR.

Verification: verified · Sources: [1] [2] [3]

Poster source: Wikipedia