Sankofa

An elderly Divine Drummer named Sankofa opens the film with Fontomfrom drums and a chant that calls the ancestors. His music serves as a bridge between the living and the dead, anchored in Ghana's history. He summons the lingering spirits of those who died during the Maafa, establishing the spiritual foundation of the story.

Mona, a contemporary African-American model, is photographed on the coast of Ghana. The photographer pushes her to perform an intimate pose as if with the camera, while Mona remains unaware of Cape Coast Castle's brutal slave-trade past. On the beach, she unexpectedly encounters the mysterious Sankofa, the elderly drummer from the prologue.

Sankofa confronts Mona, urging her to remember her roots and the sacredness of Cape Coast Castle. He uses his drums and the spirits of the enslaved to block tourists from entering the site. His interventions begin to blur the line between Mona’s present and a memory-filled past.

Mona is drawn into a time-warp and transported into the castle during the slave era. She is surrounded by enslaved Africans and dragged by European slave traders to a fire where she is stripped and branded. This brutal initiation ushers her into the life of a house servant named Shola.

Mona adopts the identity of Shola, a house servant, and is taken to Lafayette plantation in the Southern United States. She endures abuse by slave masters and suffers acts including rape. There she encounters Nunu, Noble Ali, and Shango, who become key figures in her world.

Shango, a rebellious West Indian slave, acts to defend fellow slaves and often risks his life. He tries to poison the overseer, and cuts down sugar canes in anger, refusing to abandon his people. His loyalty to his fellow slaves paints him as a volatile but principled figure.

Shola becomes involved with a secret slave society that meets at night. Initially she resists joining due to Christian beliefs, but the enslaved group ultimately decides to rebel. Their confrontation results in fire and sugar cane being burned.

Nunu's conflict with her mixed-race son Joe escalates as Joe—fathered by a white man who raped Nunu on the slave ship—becomes a head slave who disciplines others. Joe is brainwashed by Father Raphel into viewing Africans as threats, and he kills Nunu believing she is possessed. He later regrets his act, and some interpret that Nunu returns home on the wings of a bird.

Shola, inspired by Nunu and Shango, accepts the Sankofa bird and joins the rebellion. She retaliates against her white rapist, killing him, marking a turning point in her awakening. Her transformation mirrors Mona's journey across centuries.

Back in the present, Mona completes her return as a fully awakened person. She is greeted by a woman who says My child, welcome back, and she walks past the photographer, signaling a break with colonialism. Mona joins a group of Black people reconnecting with their roots, as Sankofa's chants echo and Nunu steps out of the slave castle.

Across the final shots, a bird soars into the sky as Sankofa drums chant for the dead to rise. The image signifies liberation for those who reclaimed their past, and the film ends with a sense of renewed connection to Africa.