(VERB). SÆŊKOWF TO LOOK INTO THE TRADITIONAL WAYS & RETRIEVE INSIGHTS FROM THE PAST TO IMPROVE THE FUTURE…

The literal translation SAN (Return), KO (go), FA (Look, seek and take). SANKOFA is linked to the Akan proverb ‘se wo were fi an wosankofa a yenkyi’, which translates as ‘it is not wrong to go back from which you have forgotten’, also, ‘it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.’

Words matter. Words have power. Words have spirit. Words can hurt, heal, destroy, and inspire.

In the Akan Twi Language of Ghana exists a word – SANKOFA – to retrieve forward traditional ways and knowledge from the past to build a better future. 

Indigenous languages come from the spirit of the land, reflections of the bioregions their people call home. Indigenous languages have grown and evolved over deep time, generations upon generations of lives lived in alignment with Nature. They have learned from Nature, because Nature is sentient. Nature is inseparable from us. Nature is… our family.

Indigenous cultures all over the world view Nature in this way. Everything connected. Everything in relation.

It is the indigenous peoples from some of the remote corners of the globe who want to tell this story, who invite the world to experience another way of being, a way of equality, of acceptance, of deep connection to all beings of this world, a way of living in unity with Nature. 

In cultures and languages where Nature is a member of the family, we work with the people to tell their stories the way they want to tell it, to bring these concepts to life on screen, through stories and traditions, through their eyes, and their words.

The words we use matter. When we change the way we speak, we change the way we act. 

This is the heart of Sankofa – bringing the wisdom of the words that connect indigenous cultures with Nature to life through impactful, human stories. 

Sankofa explores a new way to speak, a new way to be, a new way to connect with who we once were and to retrieve forward the wisdom we have lost.