Akosua Adoma Owusu
Akosua Adoma Owusu is a Ghanaian-American filmmaker, producer, and educator born in 1984. Her cinematic essays and experimental films explore the complex intersections of identity, often depicting the "triple consciousness" of African immigrants in the United States. Her works have been showcased at numerous prestigious festivals and institutions worldwide, including the New York Film Festival, Rotterdam, Locarno, Toronto, BFI London, Berlinale, and MoMA. In 2015, IndieWire recognized her as one of six "avant-garde female filmmakers who redefined cinema." Some of her notable films include Kwaku Ananse (2013), which won an Africa Movie Academy Award and was presented at the Venice Biennale, and Reluctantly Queer (2016), which was selected for the Berlinale and nominated for the Teddy Award. She studied at the University of Virginia before earning a Master of Fine Arts in Film and Visual Arts from CalArts. In 2023, she also served as a cultural ambassador (Arts Envoy) for the United States in Ghana. Alongside her artistic career, she teaches film and media. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Howard University’s Cathy Hughes School of Communications, in the Department of Media, Journalism, and Film.
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Drexciya
Duration: 24 minutes
Subscription access
_Drexciya_ portrays an abandoned swimming pool on Riviera Beach in Accra, Ghana. During the postcolonial era, at the beginning of Kwame Nkrumah's reign, the Riviera Beach Club was a luxurious hotel that thrived until the mid-1970s. The once-Olympic pool, now in a state of advanced disrepair, is now used for other purposes by the local community.
Kwaku Ananse
Duration: 52 minutes
Subscription access
Drawing upon the rich mythology of Ghana, this magical short film combines semi-autobiographical elements from Owusu's life with local folklore to tell the story of a young American woman who returns to West Africa for her father's funeral.
Drexciya
Duration: 24 minutes
Subscription access
_Drexciya_ portrays an abandoned swimming pool on Riviera Beach in Accra, Ghana. During the postcolonial era, at the beginning of Kwame Nkrumah's reign, the Riviera Beach Club was a luxurious hotel that thrived until the mid-1970s. The once-Olympic pool, now in a state of advanced disrepair, is now used for other purposes by the local community.
Kwaku Ananse
Duration: 52 minutes
Subscription access
Drawing upon the rich mythology of Ghana, this magical short film combines semi-autobiographical elements from Owusu's life with local folklore to tell the story of a young American woman who returns to West Africa for her father's funeral.
