The name Kwaw Ansah is inseparable from the evolution of filmmaking in Ghana. For decades, he has stood as a towering reference point—not only within Ghana but across the African continent—helping to elevate African cinema to global recognition.

Few Ghanaians have shaped the film, advertising, and mass communication industries with such depth, consistency, and cultural conviction.

Known formally as Kwaw Panyintsir Ansah, he is Ghana’s ultimate benchmark in filmmaking and one of Africa’s most influential creative minds. Straddling film, culture, advertising, and mass communication, Ansah’s career represents a rare fusion of artistic excellence and cultural advocacy.

After returning to Ghana from his studies at London’s Regent Street Polytechnic (1961–1963) and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts (1963–1965), Ansah embarked on a creative journey that would earn him the industry’s highest accolade—Living Legend. Everything he touched carried the mark of originality and excellence.

His early creative imprints include iconic textile designs such as “Abankaba” and landmark television commercials like “Signal”, which dominated Ghana’s advertising landscape from the 1960s through the 1970s while he worked with UAC (now Unilever).

Later, through his own agency, Target Saatchi & Saatchi, Ansah produced award-winning commercials including GOIL, Chocolate Spread, and The Lotto Agent.

His globally acclaimed “ABC” television commercial won the prestigious CLIO Award in 1989, making it the first African TV commercial to receive such recognition. In 2003, the Advertising Association of Ghana honoured him with its highest distinction, the Outstanding Personality Award.

It is, however, in filmmaking that Kwaw Ansah’s legacy is most firmly cemented. His masterpieces—Love Brewed in the African Pot, Heritage Africa and the documentary Crossroads of People, Crossroads of Trade defined Ghana’s film industry in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. These works remain the standard against which Ghanaian cinema is measured.

Love Brewed in the African Pot earned multiple international accolades, including:

Jury Prize for Best Director, FESPACO (1981)

Jury’s Special Silver Peacock Award, 8th International Film Festival of India (1981)

OAU Film Prize, the African Union’s first film award

Order of the Nation of Burkina Faso for Arts and Culture (1995)

His subsequent film, Heritage Africa, achieved a historic milestone by winning the Yenenga Grand Prix at FESPACO (1989)—the first film from Anglophone Africa to do so. That same year, it was named Outstanding Film of the Year at the London Film Festival.

Recognizing its cultural significance, the Government of Ghana adopted the film as an official cultural screening for visiting Pan-African delegations.

In 1994, Ansah’s documentary Crossroads of People, Crossroads of Trade, produced for the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board and sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution, won the UNESCO Film Award in France.

Over the years, he expanded his filmography with works such as Harvest at 17, The Golden Stool: Soul of the Asantes, and notable video-format classics including For the Love of AA, Papa Lasisi Bicycle, Suffering to Lose, and Praising the Lord Plus One.

Ansah’s contributions have attracted numerous honours, including the ACRAG Living Legend Award (1998), the Osagyefo Lifetime Achievement Award from the Ghana Academy of Film and Television Arts (2011), and the Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah African Genius Award (2014).

At the continental level, his election as Chairman of the Federation of African Film Makers (FEPACI) in 1995 affirmed Africa’s collective confidence in his vision to tell Africa’s story through cinema.

In 2017, as part of Ghana’s 60th Independence Anniversary, ACRAG again recognized him as a Living Legend.

His venture into broadcasting led to the establishment of TV Africa, widely regarded as the most culturally authentic Ghanaian television station, dedicated to African-centered content.

Perhaps his most enduring gift to the continent is the Bisa Aberwa Museum—a globally acclaimed cultural and tourism monument.

Celebrated for its architecture, collections, and immersive storytelling, it stands as Africa’s leading privately owned museum and won the 2024 Best Visitor Attraction of the Year at both regional and national levels during the National Tourism Awards.

Beyond creative production, Ansah served the nation in public institutions, including as a founding and longest-serving board member of the Ghana Media Commission, the National Commission on Culture, and the School of Performing Arts, University of Ghana.

At 85, Kwaw Ansah takes his greatest pride not in the roomful of trophies amassed over six decades, but in laying them symbolically at the feet of Mother Africa, from whom he draws his inspiration and to whom he dedicates his life’s work.

In recognition of this extraordinary legacy, La Foundation for the Arts (LAFA) proudly presents the LAFA Heritage Honours 2025, celebrating Kwaw Ansah’s pioneering contributions to Ghana’s arts and film industry.

The event, held in partnership with UNESCO, underscores Ghana’s growing prominence in global conversations on heritage, creativity, and cultural memory.

The celebration will feature a Heritage Red Carpet Experience and a curated Kwaw Ansah Exhibition, showcasing film posters, scripts, personal artifacts and rare behind-the-scenes photographs that chronicle his creative journey.

The event takes place on Friday, 19th December 2025, at 6:00 pm prompt, at LAFA Exhibition Space, 144 La Road, Accra.