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Should I be jubilating to learn that a total of three films made by Ghanaians and those from the diaspora will feature at the Film Africa festival in 2016? Last year there was just one, while in years 2014 and 2013, there were two films. Even though the number of films showing this year is higher for a third consecutive year, I will refrain from popping the champagne just yet. Films from Ghanaians at Film Africa since 2011  The reason is two-fold. Ghanaian film representation at Film Africa has never been as good (if you can call that good) as in 2011 when the festival was first launched and a total of five flicks were showcased. It fell to four in 2012, and has never managed to hit five digits ever since. Secondly, in the grand scheme of things, the Ghanaian contribution to films in this festival is meagre when compared to movie heavyweights such as South Africa. In 2015, the festival showcased 67 narrative features, documentaries, and short films from across ...

Emmanuel Apraku is proving that Ghanaian artists don't have to leave their country of birth to have Drake sporting batakari © Ray Styles their talents recognised at home and abroad. The 28-year-old, who is better known by his Usher Raymond-inspired nickname Ray Styles, was born in Ghana’s capital. He studied at the prestigious Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) where he s pecialised in animation and video production. He went on to graduate with a first-class honours bachelor degree in communication design. But Apraku has set his sights higher and aims to build a global graphics brand from his home city of Accra. New talent Apraku represents a new wave of contemporary African artists that are combining traditional drawing skills with modern technology, and are reaching wider global audiences quicker than artists of a previous generation. Seasoned Ghanaian artists such as El Anatsui and Kofi Agorsor trained in Ghana but ironically h...