News
The inaugural Abibitumi Abibifahodie Film Festival launches this November
The inaugural Abibitumi Abibifahodie Film Festival (AAFF) launches this November as a historic hybrid (in-person and virtual) celebration of Abibitumi ‘Black Power’ and Abibifahodie ‘Black Liberation’ through cinema and storytelling from across the Black world.
Taking place November 28–30, 2025, the festival will be hosted at Ozone Cinema, Oyarifa Mall, Accra, with simultaneous digital screenings and live-streamed discussions connecting storytellers, audiences, and creatives from throughout Abibiman and the Diaspora.
With the unifying theme “What Abibitumi Is: Demonstration Over Conversation,” this festival signals the rise of a new creative wave — one that fuses language, film, and liberation practice.
It serves as a powerful prelude to the Abibitumi Conference (December 12–14, 2025), extending the ongoing movement of self-definition, Abibitumi ‘Black Power’, and Abibifahodie ‘Black Liberation’ through art, media, and collective engagement.
Honouring the Tradition of the Kmt(yw): Storytelling as Liberation Practice
Co-founded by Ɔbenfo (Professor) Ọbádélé Kambon and filmmaker Ọnụọra Abụah, the Abibitumi Abibifahodie Film Festival showcases works from across Abibiman (Africa) and the Black world, reflecting narratives of identity, resistance, and consciousness.
The festival affirms cinema as a vital tool in the global struggle for Abibifahodie ‘Black Liberation’.
Featured Categories: Feature Films (non-competitive), Short Films (documentary, animation, and AI-infused works), Student Films (emerging storytellers from across Abibiman).
Opening night will feature the Red, Black, and Green Carpet Gala, and honouring Nii Kwate Owoo with the Legacy Award, followed by a screening of his seminal film You Hide Me — a foundational work in African cinematic resistance.
Jury & Moderators
The 2025 Jury brings together leading voices in African film and culture:
- Abraham Haile Biru (Ethiopia) – President of the Jury
- Ama K. Abebrese (Ghana) – Actor & Producer
- Selikim Geni (Ghana) – Media Professional
- Adjetey Anang – Actor
Panel discussions will be moderated by Derek Fiakpui (Ghana) and other invited professionals, ensuring dynamic conversations around film, creativity, and Abibifahodie.
Hybrid Festival Experience
The festival merges the physical and digital worlds in true Abibitumi fashion — combining in-person screenings and discussions at OzoneCinema with live-streamed sessions via the Abibitumi Film Festival Portal.
This format enables Black people across the globe to connect, create, and celebrate together in real time.
Tickets are available at filmfestival.abibifahodie.org/tickets or directly at the Ozone Cinema Box Office (Oyarifa Mall).
A Pan-Abibiman Collaboration
Organized by Abibitumi in partnership with AEA Films, OzoneCinema, and UNIMAC, with press and media coordination by SITA Communications, the Abibitumi Abibifahodie Film Festival provides a platform for Black filmmakers to define, document, and direct their own narratives — reclaiming storytelling as a weapon of liberation.
News
Abu Trica’s extradition case: Prophets, fetish priests demand pay for spiritual solution …Lawyer reveals
Mr Oliver Barker-Vormawor, a lawyer for embattled Frederick Kumi, affectionately called Abu Trica and has made a shocking revelation over the behaviour of some members of the clergy.
According to him in a post on social media, the difficult part of Abu Trica’s trial is not the law but the number of ‘Men of God’ and fetish priests demanding financial sacrifices to help resolve the matter spiritually.
Oliver Barker-Vormawor posted on Tuesday, April 22, 2026, “The most difficult part about the Abu Trica case; is not the law.”
He continued: “It is the number of, prophetesses, evangelists and fetish priests, who have called or messaged to ask us to pay for spiritual solutions.”
It would be recalled that in March this year, the Gbese District Court dismissed a preliminary objection filed by Abu Trica, challenging the extradition proceedings initiated at the request of the United States.
The court, presided over by Anna Akosua Appiah Gottfried Anaafi Gyasi, in its ruling held that the offences forming the basis of the extradition, particularly wire fraud, constitute extraditable offences under the 1931 treaty between Ghana and the United States.
He was then given 15 days counting from March 27 to appeal the decision of the court or be surrendered for extradition to the US.
Against this backdrop, he was on Tuesday, April 22, granted a bail in the sum of GH¢30,000,000 by an Accra High, pending the appeal of his extradition
Mr Kumi was arrested in Ghana in December 2025 following an indictment by United States authorities, alleging that he played a role in a romance scam network that defrauded elderly American victims of more than $8 million.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
News
From panic to pass: how parents, teachers can help children beat BECE, WASSCE exam phobia- Part 1
Walk through any Junior High or Senior High compound in Ghana as BECE or WASSCE approaches and you will see it.
A bright girl suddenly quiet. A boy who led class debates now sleeping at his desk. A Form three student with stomach pains every Monday morning.
This is not laziness. This is academic stress. When left unaddressed, it hardens into exam phobia-overwhelming dread that pushes children into burnout, avoidance, and sometimes silence.
As a mental health professional who sits with these children and their parents at Counselor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC) in Adenta Oyarifa-Teiman, I see the pattern clearly.
Research confirms it. Putwain and Daly (2014) found that high test anxiety predicts lower grades independent of ability. Zeidner (1998) showed that chronic academic pressure raises cortisol, weakens memory recall, and increases school dropout risk. The brain under fear cannot retrieve what it studied.
Understanding the storm: What academic stress really looks like
Exam phobia is not just “being nervous.” It shows up as headaches before mocks, sudden anger when books are mentioned, night-time insomnia, or perfectionism that ends in blank scripts.
Some children over-study until 2 a.m. and forget everything by 9 a.m. Others avoid books completely, scrolling phones instead. Both are distress signals. Dr Kenneth Ginsburg, a paediatrician specialising in adolescent resilience, notes: “Stress is not the enemy; feeling alone with stress is.” Too many Ghanaian children feel alone with it.
The home front: How parents and couples become safe havens, not extra pressure
The first antidote is at home. Structure beats shouting. Set a predictable study slot-same time, same place, with water and a light snack. Then protect sleep like you protect school fees. A tired brain fails faster than an unprepared one. Use the “15-minute start rule”: “Just sit for 15 minutes. If you still can’t, we close and try after a walk.” Often, starting is the hardest part.
Couples must watch their language. “Don’t disgrace us” plants fear. Replace it with “We see your effort. What part feels hardest today?” Praise process, not only position: “You revised three topics and asked for help—that is maturity.” Research by Dweck (2006) confirms that process praise builds resilience while outcome praise increases anxiety.
For caregivers, check your own anxiety. Children borrow our nervous system. If BECE makes you panic, they will panic. One parent grounds—keeps meals, prayer, and bedtime steady. The other pivots—talks to teachers, adjusts timetables, arranges counselling. Both protect rest. An empty cup cannot pour calm.
Resources
– Counsellor Prince & Associates Consult (CPAC): Award-winning Clinical Mental Health and Counselling Facility, accredited by the Ghana Psychology Council.
– School-Based Support: Speak to Guidance & Counselling units, or licensed school counsellors. E.g. Counsellor Blessing Offei – 0559850604 (School Counsellor).
– Contact CPAC for Parent Coaching/Counselling & Student Therapy: 055 985 0604 / 055 142 8486
