Fred Kudjo Kuwornu

Filmmaker ~ Producer ~ Scholar ~ Curator ~ Public Speaker
60th International Biennale of Art Venice Artist Invited •
Italian and U.S. Citizen – Ghana Ancestry

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

We are proud to announce that

We Were Here – The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe

has received the award for

OUTSTANDING INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY
at the 26th edition of the Black Reel Awards @blackreelawards Established in 2000, the Black Reel Awards are a leading awards institution dedicated to recognizing and celebrating excellence in Black film and television.

In an edition marked by the strong presence and 14 awards of Sinners, directed by Ryan Coogler, we are honored to be recognized among works that continue to shape contemporary independent cinema.

Alongside this recognition, the film was officially submitted and in consideration for both the 98th Academy Awards® and the 57th NAACP Image Awards during the 2026 awards season, marking an important chapter in its international awards journey.

As this cycle concludes, the film continues its academic and museum tour worldwide.

We extend our sincere gratitude to the jury of the Black Reel Awards for this recognition, and to the entire crew and producers who made this film possible:

Fred Kudjo Kuwornu
Lorenzo Fabbri
Peter Boateng Manu Peter Manu

as well as the scholars, institutions, partners, and supporters who believed in the urgency and importance of reclaiming this history and are still hosting screenings of the documentary.

We Were Here – The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe will continue its international tour across museums, universities, and cultural institutions through 2027, fostering dialogue on the presence of Africans in Renaissance Europe and the reexamination of historical narratives.

To book screenings or academic events, please contact:

[email protected]

The journey continues.

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

@ArthurMacwaters Spartacus who led the revolt in Rome did not try to end it:-)

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

@narindertweets @ArthurMacwaters and probably they will do again when they will use as slaves machines , robots and Ai.

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

Thank you so much Cultured Focus Magazine to follow the journey of We Were Here since day 1 and thank journalist Tammy Reese for this amazing article

https://t.co/cCNrQpRaU4 @naacpimageaward @BlackReelAwards

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

I am deeply grateful to the 26th Black Reel Awards @BlackReelAwards for recognizing We Were Here – The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe with a nomination in the Outstanding International Film category.

It is truly an honor to be in the company of films and colleagues I deeply admire. Congratulations as well to the nominees in the Outstanding International Film category.

While we were not selected for the Academy Awards shortlist of 15 this year, the journey of the film continues in meaningful and affirming ways through spaces that matter deeply to us, including the 26th Black Reel Awards and the @naacpbaltimore 57th NAACP Image Awards @naacpimageaward

Being part of this community, sharing stories, responsibilities, and creative visions with fellow filmmakers and artists, is one of the most meaningful aspects of this work. This is where dialogue happens, where stories resonate, and where our collective histories continue to be told. Thank you to everyone who continues to support We Were Here and believes in the importance of telling stories that build memory, connection, and a shared future. #blackreelawards #naacpimageawards #oscar2026

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

I am deeply grateful to the 26th Black Reel Awards @BlackReelAwards for recognizing We Were Here – The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe with a nomination in the Outstanding Independent Documentary category.

It is truly an honor to be in the company of films and colleagues I deeply admire, including BLK News @ , The Eyes of Ghana , and Seeds — powerful works that continue to expand how Black histories, experiences, and perspectives are represented on screen.

Congratulations as well to the nominees in the Outstanding International Film category, especially My Father’s Shadow (United Kingdom)

While we were not selected for the Academy Awards shortlist of 15 this year, the journey of the film continues in meaningful and affirming ways through spaces that matter deeply to us, including the 26th Black Reel Awards and the @naacpbaltimore 57th NAACP Image Awards @naacpimageaward

Being part of this community, sharing stories, responsibilities, and creative visions with fellow filmmakers and artists, is one of the most meaningful aspects of this work. This is where dialogue happens, where stories resonate, and where our collective histories continue to be told.

Thank you to everyone who continues to support We Were Here and believes in the importance of telling stories that build memory, connection, and a shared future. #blackreelawards #naacpimageawards #oscar2026

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

Saint Benedict the Moor was born in Sicily in the sixteenth century to African parents who had been enslaved, while he himself was born free. He became a Franciscan friar, a mystic and a spiritual guide, and is today venerated as a saint of the Catholic Church in Europe, the Americas and across the Afro Atlantic world.

This clip has been taken from the documentary We Were Here The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe, currently For Your Consideration for the 98th Academy Awards and the 57th NAACP Image Awards. In this sequence, Saint Benedict the Moor is portrayed by actor Amin Nour, with outstanding cinematography by Luigi Benvisto AIC.

In these days, the great historian Giovanna Fiume has published a new book, Slavery and Black Sanctity. Five Hundred Years Since the Birth of Saint Benedict the Moor, a fundamental contribution that explores the relationship between enslavement, religion and the recognition of Black sanctity in the Mediterranean world.

The figure of Saint Benedict the Moor is also at the core of a new feature film we are developing on a transnational level. The project traces the spread of his devotion and its historical and contemporary significance across Sicily and Rome, as well as the United States, Peru, Colombia and Brazil, where I am currently based and where Saint Benedict the Moor is deeply venerated.

A journey that brings together cinema, history and international research to restore visibility and complexity to a figure too long overlooked. A film that you can support visiting
https://t.co/6JHKAvrN0S

@naacpimageawards @theacademy
#Oscar #Oscar2026 #naacpimageawards @LaRepubblica_it @VaticanNews

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

@KenBurns @RockPositano @LidiaBastianich Awesome

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

Grazie mille ad @avvenire.it per l’articolo e per l’attenzione dedicata al percorso di We Were Here – The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe.

Per chi desidera approfondire, l’articolo completo è disponibile qui:
👉 https://t.co/jHUdawyxiY

Dopo l’esordio del film alla 60ª Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte della Biennale di Venezia nel 2024, all’interno del Padiglione Centrale, su invito del curatore Adriano Pedrosa, We Were Here ha intrapreso un percorso internazionale che continua a crescere e a sorprendere.

Nel corso del 2025 il film è stato programmato in sale cinematografiche a New York, affiancando il circuito museale e universitario che rappresenta il cuore della sua distribuzione. Parallelamente, il progetto ha ricevuto importanti riconoscimenti e selezioni, tra cui la selezione agli Oscar, la considerazione nei circuiti dei NAACP Image Awards e dei Black Reel Awards, confermando l’impatto culturale e politico di questo lavoro.

Ad oggi, We Were Here ha superato le 70 proiezioni tra musei, università, biblioteche e istituzioni culturali negli Stati Uniti e in altri Paesi, diventando uno strumento di dialogo tra cinema, storia, arte e comunità.

Guardando al futuro, stiamo preparando il primo vero tour europeo del film, previsto da maggio a dicembre 2026, con proiezioni speciali in musei, istituzioni culturali e università, e con una particolare attenzione anche all’Italia, Paese centrale sia per la storia raccontata dal film sia per il mio percorso personale e artistico.

Proprio a partire da questo percorso, stiamo già lavorando allo sviluppo di un nuovo film dedicato a una figura ancora poco conosciuta ma straordinaria come San Benedetto il Moro, santo afroitaliano nato in Sicilia e venerato in diverse parti del mondo. Il progetto è pensato come un film di respiro internazionale, con ricerche e riprese previste in Italia, Europa, America Latina e Stati Uniti, e con il coinvolgimento di storici, studiosi, comunità religiose. @Avvenire_Nei @VaticanNews @Corriere @repubblica @Internazionale

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

Revealing the African Presence in Renaissance Europe – Joaneath Spicer interviewed by Reginaldo Cerolini https://t.co/DkdhGLbnp5

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

@fred_kuwornu
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION — NAACP IMAGE AWARDS 2026- OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY

I created We Were Here — The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe to expand the narrative beyond stories of servitude. For too long, the world has been taught that Black presence in Renaissance Europe was limited to slavery or domestic roles. This film restores what was erased: leadership, artistry, spirituality, and Black excellence at the heart of European history. Figures like Saint Benedict the Moor, Juan Latino, Juan de Pareja, and Alessandro de’ Medici were scholars, artists, diplomats, and political leaders whose contributions shaped the world we inherited. Their stories deserve visibility, dignity, and a place in our collective memory. The film was exhibited in the Central Pavilion of the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, marking a rare recognition for a linear documentary in one of the world’s most important art spaces.

The project has since been embraced by museums, universities, and historians worldwide, and was honored with the Dan David Prize 2025, one of the most prestigious international awards for historical research. As a diasporic Black filmmaker born in Italy to a Ghanaian father and now based in New York, I am deeply grateful that the NAACP Image Awards community opens its platform to voices from across the African diaspora.
This recognition allows international Black stories to reach audiences that have long been denied access to this history. To all Image Awards members: I warmly invite you to watch the film and consider it during this awards season. Your support amplifies independent Black storytelling and helps restore chapters of history that have been hidden for centuries.
Thank you for this opportunity.

https://t.co/ovgFK8gXqy

#NAACPImageAwards #FYC #WeWereHereFilm #BlackHistory #AfricanDiaspora

@naacpimageaward @naacpla @ColorOfChange

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION — NAACP IMAGE AWARDS 2026- OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY

I created We Were Here — The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe to expand the narrative beyond stories of servitude. For too long, the world has been taught that Black presence in Renaissance Europe was limited to slavery or domestic roles. This film restores what was erased: leadership, artistry, spirituality, and Black excellence at the heart of European history.
Figures like Saint Benedict the Moor, Juan Latino, Juan de Pareja, and Alessandro de’ Medici were scholars, artists, diplomats, and political leaders whose contributions shaped the world we inherited. Their stories deserve visibility, dignity, and a place in our collective memory.
The film was exhibited in the Central Pavilion of the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, marking a rare recognition for a linear documentary in one of the world’s most important art spaces.

The project has since been embraced by museums, universities, and historians worldwide, and was honored with the Dan David Prize 2025, one of the most prestigious international awards for historical research.

As a diasporic Black filmmaker born in Italy to a Ghanaian father and now based in New York, I am deeply grateful that the NAACP Image Awards community opens its platform to voices from across the African diaspora. This recognition allows international Black stories to reach audiences that have long been denied access to this history.

To all Image Awards members: I warmly invite you to watch the film and consider it during this awards season. Your support amplifies independent Black storytelling and helps restore chapters of history that have been hidden for centuries.
Thank you for this opportunity.

#NAACPImageAwards #FYC #WeWereHereFilm #BlackHistory #AfricanDiaspora @DerrickNAACP @TheRoot @ebenezer_atl @naacpbaltimore

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION — NAACP IMAGE AWARDS 2026- OUTSTANDING DOCUMENTARY

I created We Were Here — The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe to expand the narrative beyond stories of servitude.
For too long, the world has been taught that Black presence in Renaissance Europe was limited to slavery or domestic roles. This film restores what was erased: leadership, artistry, spirituality, and Black excellence at the heart of European history.
Figures like Saint Benedict the Moor, Juan Latino, Juan de Pareja, and Alessandro de’ Medici were scholars, artists, diplomats, and political leaders whose contributions shaped the world we inherited. Their stories deserve visibility, dignity, and a place in our collective memory.

The film was exhibited in the Central Pavilion of the 60th Venice Biennale International Art Exhibition, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, marking a rare recognition for a linear documentary in one of the world’s most important art spaces.

The project has since been embraced by museums, universities, and historians worldwide, and was honored with the Dan David Prize 2025, one of the most prestigious international awards for historical research.

As a diasporic Black filmmaker born in Italy to a Ghanaian father and now based in New York, I am deeply grateful that the NAACP Image Awards community opens its platform to voices from across the African diaspora.
This recognition allows international Black stories to reach audiences that have long been denied access to this history.

To all Image Awards members:
I warmly invite you to watch the film and consider it during this awards season.
Your support amplifies independent Black storytelling and helps restore chapters of history that have been hidden for centuries.
Thank you for this opportunity.

#NAACPImageAwards #FYC #WeWereHereFilm #BlackHistory #AfricanDiaspora @naacpimageaward @NAACP

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

@TambayObenson amazing workkkkkkk

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

As we enter the final days for Academy members to watch films in the Academy Screening Room, I wanted to share a reminder of where this journey truly began.

We Were Here – The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe was originally created for the 60th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, curated by Adriano Pedrosa, and tells the story about the Black presence during the XV century in Europe. How did they come to Europe?
Why were they portrayed?
If the Black faces in these Renaissance masterpieces could speak, what would they tell us?”

The project was born from years of collaboration with scholars, art historians, curators, and researchers who have dedicated their careers to uncovering these histories. Their work shaped every frame of this film.
What is happening now – the film becoming eligible for the Oscars and entering the conversation of the film industry – is, for us, a meaningful transition. A bridge between art, historical research, and the global documentary community, making sure these stories are not only studied but also seen, heard, and acknowledged.

At the same time, our commitment remains unchanged:
to continue sharing this work through our global tour, which has already reached over 100 screenings since early 2025 in universities, museums, cultural centers, and art institutions across Europe, the United States, Africa, and Latin America. This tour is central to the mission of the film, and it will continue well beyond award season.

As the Academy narrows its selections in the coming days, your attention and your support mean more than ever.
For Academy members, We Were Here is available now in the Academy Screening Room. Thank you for watching, for sharing, and for helping this story travel.

@Variety @hyperallergic @ArtReview_ @artnews @OkayAfrica @SmithsonianMag

#WeWereHere #Oscars2026 #AcademyScreeningRoom #ArtHistory #DiasporaStudies #Renaissance #DocumentaryFilm #BiennaleArte

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

⭐⭐⭐A DOCUMENTARY THAT RECLAIMS A SILENCED HISTORY - EL PAIS

For Your Consideration – Academy Documentary Branch Members
⸻
We Were Here – The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe is a cinematic journey across Europe and the African diaspora, guided by living voices, scholars, encounters and real places that illuminate human stories hidden within Renaissance art and cultural memory. The Renaissance was not only white.

The documentary travels through Florence, Venice, Rome, Lisbon, Seville, Granada, Paris, Amsterdam and London, with contemporary connections filmed in Rio de Janeiro, bringing to life individuals whose presence helped shape European history yet remains largely absent from mainstream narratives.

Through portraits, conversations and locations, the film reveals a powerful truth: the Renaissance was not only white. It offers a more complex and multicultural vision of the period, told through cinematic storytelling rather than academic abstraction.

Produced entirely independently, the film has no studio backing and no major awards campaign behind it. It exists thanks to the commitment of a small team driven by passion and urgency to give space to stories that have too often remained unseen.

⸻

We warmly invite Documentary Branch members to watch the film on the Academy Screening Room before voting and engage with this journey of rediscovery and remembrance.

FYC page:
https://t.co/nSDQPK3sxJ

Available on the Academy Screening Room for Documentary Branch members.

@SiddhantAdlakha @GuardianUS @ZacJNtim @lilyfordtweets @jasondhorowitz

#oscar
#oscars2026
#art #history

[Tambay Obenson @TambayObenson]

Trailer for "The Untold History of Black Africans in Renaissance Europe,” which has completed all Academy-required steps for the 2026 Oscars and is now part of the official pool that Academy Documentary voters will consider for Best Documentary Feature nominations.

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

A HIDDEN BLACK CHAPTER OF EUROPEAN HISTORY NOW COMPETING FOR THE OSCARS.

This year, I am honored to represent a story that comes from the global African diaspora. Among all artists with Ghanaian heritage in this awards cycle, I am the only one whose work is currently in consideration for the 2026 Academy Awards.

My documentary WE WERE HERE THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF BLACK AFRICANS IN RENAISSANCE EUROPE brings back the stories that Europe tried to forget. It follows the lives of extraordinary figures whose presence shaped the Renaissance across Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Brazil.

• Alessandro de’ Medici, the first ruler of a European state with African ancestry
• Juan Latino, the first professor of African descent in the history of European universities
• Ne Vunda, the African ambassador who arrived in Rome in 1608 and is buried at Santa Maria Maggiore, the same place where Pope Francis expressed the wish to be buried one day
• João de Panasco, the African knight portrayed in the Kings Fountain
• Benedict the Moor, born in Sicily in 1524 to enslaved parents and venerated today in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and the United States

Through art, archives, and testimonies of historians, art historians, and museum curators, the film reconstructs an erased legacy that connects Europe, Africa and the Americas.

Meeting Steve McQueen in Rio de Janeiro during FLUP Festival was one of those quietly meaningful moments that invite reflection on my personal journey as a filmmaker.

Steve has always represented for me a rare kind of creative freedom. His Academy Award winning film 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Oscar winner for Best Director, combined with his ability to move fluently between video art, art, major museum exhibitions, major international festivals and large scale Hollywood productions, show that it is possible to remain anchored to a deeply personal vision while navigating radically different artistic worlds.

My own journey has remained far more independent and small scale, built through self produced documentary films, educational screenings and institutional collaborations rather than major industry structures. Yet moments like this remind me of the value of parallel paths. Different scales, different systems, but the same commitment to storytelling, historical memory and artistic integrity.

WE WERE HERE THE UNTOLD HISTORY OF BLACK AFRICANS IN RENAISSANCE EUROPE continues its journey toward the Oscars. Encountering an artist like Steve feels quietly symbolic. Not as a comparison, but as a reminder that many artistic roads can coexist, intersect and inspire one another.

Grateful for the conversation.

⸻

🎬 FULL TRAILER
👉 https://t.co/nSDQPK3sxJ

⸻

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
OSCARS 2026

⸻

This is an independent Oscar campaign with no studios behind it and no million dollar budget. Every share and every repost helps bring visibility to a history erased for centuries.

To Academy members, thank you for watching the film inside the Academy Screening Room. Your support helps bring this hidden chapter of world history to wider audiences.

#oscar #oscar2026 #academyawards #ghana #accra #africanfilmmaker

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

@StephanieBusari awesome

[Fred Kudjo Kuwornu @fred_kuwornu]

The untold history of Blacks in Renaissance Europe, XV century. Now eligible for Oscars 2026 Best Documentary Feature and presented For Your Consideration. Today I am sharing a very special moment from this journey. An original rendition of the song “We Were Here”, recorded inside St. Paul’s Within the Walls in Rome, a sacred and resonant space that becomes a vessel of memory, identity and presence. The piece is performed by two remarkable artists from our Afro Italian community. The powerful voice of Italian Ghanaian singer Leslie Sackey @lesliesackeyofficial and the piano solo of the Italian Ugandan Ian Elly Ssali Kiggundu @ian_ssali Lyrics by Adinkra Boy, who brings ancestral memory into a contemporary artistic language. The song accompanies images from the documentary and the actors portraying real Black historical figures of the European Renaissance. Lives and stories erased or silenced by official history, yet essential to the cultural fabric of the time. Collaborating with Afro European artists is central to my practice. It means sharing vision, building community and reclaiming cultural narratives that have been ignored for far too long. This film has no major studio behind it. It is an independent work created with passion, the support of historians, art historians and curators who are the main resource of this film . That is why even a simple share truly helps us. For members of the Documentary Branch, “We Were Here” is now available in the Academy Screening Room. I invite you to watch it and engage with a presence that has always existed in Europe, even when history tried to erase it. Thank you to all who support this journey and believe that telling these stories is not only cinema, but an act of memory and justice. #oscars #oscars2026 #art @BBCAfrica @CNNAfrica @TambayObenson @NickVivarelli @NickCaseyNYT