AFRICAN RENAISSANCE: When Art Meets Power

3x60’ for BBC4 and International Distribution

2020

Series Producer and Director

In this landmark arts series, Afua Hirsch shows Africa on its own terms, exploring the histories of Ethiopia, Senegal and Kenya through their extraordinary art, music and culture.

The series was nominated for Broadcast, AIB, and RTS awards.

I developed and pitched this series. And then went on to produce all 3 films, spending 2 months filming across Africa. I also directed the episodes in Senegal and Kenya.

EP 1: In Ethiopia, Afua Hirsch traces a proud 3,000-year history as significant as any civilisation in the west. A beacon for the black diaspora, Ethiopia's story is one of defiant independence, of kings and communists.

EP 2: In Senegal, a French-speaking nation of 15 million people in the far west of Africa, Afua Hirsch discovers a country with a cultural influence far beyond its size, with dynamic film, fashion and hip-hop scenes that have fed off historic power struggles and culture clashes, both between ancient empires and against French colonisers.

EP 3: In Kenya, a state created barely a century ago, Afua Hirsch explores how the British spun an idealised stereotype while carving out a brutal empire. Afua reveals the extremes of life today, the urban sprawl and untouched outback, and a young population still pushing away the lingering darkness of the British imperial past.