BSIFF 2026 puts Ghanaian cinema at heart of festival

The 11th Black Star International Film Festival will place Ghanaian cinema at the centre of its 2026 programme in Kumasi.

When the films for the 11th Black Star International Film Festival began coming together, something became very clear: Ghanaian films would have a strong presence this year.

That is not an accident.

It is a deliberate choice, and it speaks directly to some of the conversations we believe African cinema needs to be having right now.

For eleven years, BSIFF has been an international film festival. Films come to us from across Africa and around the world, and that remains an important part of who we are.

This year, we received submissions from 42 countries, with films from 11 countries ultimately making it into the festival.

But as BSIFF moves into its second decade, we are asking ourselves some important questions.

Who is watching African films?

Who is watching Ghanaian films?

And perhaps most importantly: how do we build a culture where our own people actively seek out, watch and pay for our stories?

It has to begin at home

We spend a lot of time talking about taking African cinema to the world.

And we should.

But there is another part of that conversation that deserves just as much attention.

Before the world watches us, can we get our own people watching us?

Africa is home to more than a billion people. Ghana itself has millions of potential viewers.

That is an audience.

So perhaps one of the biggest opportunities for African cinema is not simply somewhere outside Africa.

Perhaps it is right here.

This thinking sits at the heart of BSIFF 2026 and our theme: Film & Global Culture: The New Wave of African Cinema.

A deliberate choice

You can see that thinking reflected in this year’s programme.

Among the Ghanaian films selected are:

Legacy Africa

Ashes of Accra

Love Is Death (Odo Yewu)

King of Tema

Sesime

Home, Or Our Journey Is Still Long

We Won’t Let You Poison Us

Almost Forever

Captain Ibrahim Traore

The City of God Beneath the River

The Weavers Thread

Suluku (The Human Totem)