Ghanaian-American filmmaker and Black Panther actress Aba Arthur has urged creatives to embrace authentic storytelling as a way of reaching global audiences.
She made the call during a masterclass organized by her production company, the Ohemaa Project, in collaboration with the Black Star International Film Festival and the UniMAC Institute of Film and Television.
Speaking to Joy News, she emphasized the need for storytelling that reflects shared human experiences.
“The goal is to tell our local stories that connect to the globe. How do we tell our local stories that everybody can relate to? How do we tell stories that speak about injustice and then also teach justice?” she said.
Aba Arthur stressed that Ghanaian creatives do not need to copy foreign storytelling styles in order to gain international recognition.
“We are doing so well. We are very talented as a people and that is something we also need to take ownership of,” she stated.
She further encouraged filmmakers to prioritise collaboration and build stronger industry relationships in order to grow their work and take it beyond Ghana.
“It is about collaboration. It is about supporting other people and also being in spaces where you can have conversations and network so that you can take your film further. In Ghana, there are so many film festivals, including the Black Star International Film Festival. A lot of international filmmakers come. All you need to do is attend, engage them and you may be lucky to connect with one,” she explained.
Aba Arthur also shared the vision behind the Ohemaa Project, explaining that she created it to maintain ownership and control of her creative work.
“The reason I founded it is because I was writing a lot of projects and I wanted to have one central location for them because I understand the power in ownership. I didn’t want to be selling my stories and they are going all over the place,” she revealed.
“The foreigners will not tell our local stories. They tell theirs, so I created this platform to project our own stories so that people outside can also see and understand what we have in our country,” she added.
The masterclass marked her first in Ghana under the Ohemaa Project platform, a major step in her engagement with local creatives.
The session brought together filmmakers, actors and students and focused on how stories rooted in local culture can travel beyond Ghana while still remaining authentic.
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