Leila Djansi is a Ghanaian filmmaker
Filmmaker Leila Djansi has asserted that the ears of diasporans’ are tuned to stories that reaffirm African pride rather than narratives of slavery and suffering.
Speaking on Hitz FM on September 9, 2025, Djansi said American descendants of slaves who come to Ghana to trace their roots do not want reminders of pain and oppression rather they are looking for positive stories they can be proud of.
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She argued that Ghana has stories that could appeal to this audience and also make commercial sense if properly told.
She mentioned national heroes like Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, and legendary boxer Azumah Nelson as examples of personalities whose lives can be told on screen in ways that inspire diasporans.
Leila Djansi believes that pitching such topics to government to invest in, especially within initiatives like Beyond the Year of Return, would strengthen cultural ties with the diaspora and also attract investment into Ghana’s creative industry.
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“Right now, we have the African-American audience is split into two. You have African-Americans and then you have ADOS. ADOS are American descendants of slaves. They don’t care about what’s going on down here. The people who are returning are the ones who want to trace their roots and they are not interested in any slave narratives or any suffering narratives.
“They want more positive. And for me, if you say, okay, what would you pitch to the government? There are probably two things that I would pitch Kwame Nkrumah and Azumah Nelson. They are very commercial. Those topics are very commercial and it does talk about the strength of the African,” she stated.
She added, “It takes pride in the history. So yeah, people would want to watch that. You have Azuma Nelson. He has a really beautiful love story. So, you don’t set out to make a propaganda and when I’m using the word propaganda like you’re staging the film. You’re just telling a regular story. But that is commercial enough to attract people in the diaspora to also elevate Ghana culturally and financially.”
“The people returning to Ghana aren’t interested in slave or suffering narratives. They want positive stories. If you asked me, I’d pitch films about Azumah Nelson and Kwame Nkrumah — they have beautiful, commercial stories.” – Leila Djansi via #DayBreakHitz pic.twitter.com/h22WTXr0PB
— Hitz 103.9 FM (@Hitz1039FM) September 9, 2025
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