The Black Star International Film Festival will hold its 11th edition in Kumasi from 24th to 27th September, featuring films, masterclasses and industry sessions. Kumasi is preparing for four days of cinema as the Black Star International Film Festival (BSIFF) brings its 11th edition to the Ashanti Region from Thursday, 24 September to Sunday, 27 September 2026 at Golden Eagle Cinemas, Kumasi. Under the theme “Film & Global Culture: The New Wave of African Cinema,” BSIFF 2026 will bring together filmmakers, actors, industry leaders, students, creatives, entrepreneurs, young professionals, film lovers and audiences from Ghana and beyond. Following submissions from 42 countries, films from 12 countries, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, United States, South Africa, Zimbabwe, China, Cameroon, Singapore, Dominican Republic, Russia and Eswatini, were selected for BSIFF 2026. Audiences can expect documentaries, animation, student films, African and international cinema, Ghanaian films and newer forms of screen storytelling, including series, AI-generated content, Kumawood, music videos, short-form storytelling, interactive content and vertical dramas. At the centre of this year’s festival is an important proposition: African cinema needs African audiences. BSIFF 2026 will therefore place a strong spotlight on local-language cinema and audience development, asking how African filmmakers can create stories rooted in their cultures and languages, build sustainable audiences at home and produce work capable of travelling across Africa and the world. The choice of Kumasi is deliberate. The region has played an important role in Ghana’s popular screen culture and local-language storytelling. For BSIFF, coming to Kumasi is therefore more than a change of venue; it is part of a wider effort to bring cinema closer to audiences and strengthen Ghana’s domestic film ecosystem. Four days of films, ideas and practical knowledge Day One, Thursday, 24 September, opens BSIFF 2026 with the Opening Ceremony, including the launch of the festival’s Mental Health for Creatives initiative, placing attention on a subject the creative industries often do not speak about enough: the pressures, uncertainty and emotional demands that can accompany creative careers. The opening day also brings films and major industry conversations around Protecting Your Intellectual Property (IP) and AI and the Future of African Storytelling. The AI conversation will explore what rapidly developing technology could mean specifically for African filmmakers, from reducing production costs and expanding access to animation, to translation, storyboarding, previsualisation, restoration and other tools that could transform how African stories are produced. The day continues with film screenings before audiences and guests move into an Evening Cinema Music Party. Day Two, Friday, 25 September, turns strongly towards the business of film. The National Film Authority will lead a session focused on the Film Fund, while veteran media executive Dr Fadda Dickson Narh will lead a conversation around selling films to television stations and the power of local language in film. Cinema executive Kene Mkparu will also lead an industry session on The Science of Film Distribution , tackling the question that confronts filmmakers everywhere: “I have made the film. What next?” Alongside the industry programme, film screenings will continue throughout the day, with networking and industry engagement creating opportunities for filmmakers, audiences and professionals to meet and connect. Day Three, Saturday, 26 September, brings another day of practical learning and cinema. Actor Aba Arthur leads the acting masterclass Bringing Characters to Life , Kene Mkparu returns with an Audience Development Masterclass, and creative professional Obinna Okerekeocha leads an AI Masterclass designed to move the conversation from theory towards practical application. Film screenings continue throughout the day alongside networking, industry engagement and opportunities for audiences to encounter stories from Ghana, Africa and around the world. Day Four, Sunday, 27 September, brings BSIFF 2026 to its culmination with final film screenings, followed by the festival’s closing film from Uganda. The Closing Ceremony & Awards will then celebrate the films and filmmakers of the 11th edition before BSIFF signs off Kumasi in festival style, with the BSIFF Rooftop After Party running into daybreak. After four days of films, ideas, learning, conversations and new connections, the final evening will also be a celebration of the people and community that make cinema possible. The African Filmmaker’s Roadmap launches in Kumasi Another major moment will be the official launch of The African Filmmaker’s Roadmap: From Film to Audience, Market & Distribution , a new 200-plus-page practical industry resource by filmmaker and BSIFF founder Juliet Asante, with a foreword by Moses Babatope, Founder and Group CEO of Nile Media Entertainment Group. The Roadmap grew from a question familiar to many African filmmakers: “I have made my film. What next?” It explores audiences, marketing, cinemas, broadcasters, distributors, markets, rights, platforms and pathways available to filmmakers seeking to move their work from film to audience and build sustainable careers. And yes, it’s a film festival. Come and have fun BSIFF is not only for filmmakers. Corporate executives, entrepreneurs, young professionals, students, creatives, families, market women, film lovers and people who are simply curious are welcome. Come and watch a film. Sit in on a conversation. Take a masterclass. Meet someone you didn’t know before. Network. Laugh. Take pictures. Discover new stories. Experience Kumasi. And perhaps leave seeing African cinema, and its possibilities, a little differently. BSIFF 2026 continues to enjoy the support of UNESCO, while its new collaboration with MultiChoice Talent Factory is expected to contribute to knowledge exchange, skills development and the strengthening of Africa’s film ecosystem. Golden Eagle Cinemas and Project Kumasi are also important to BSIFF’s Kumasi journey as the festival works to build audiences and strengthen cinema culture across Ghana. For BSIFF, being in Kumasi is not simply about staging another event. It is an international intervention with a domestic purpose: to help create the conditions in which African films, African filmmakers and African audiences can thrive.
Source: MyJoyOnline Ghana