The screening, held at the Nationalism Park, drew a diverse audience, including many from the African Diaspora, who described the experience as both painful and enlightening.
Ota Benga was purchased from slave traders in Congo and taken to the United States, where in 1906 he was infamously exhibited at the Bronx Zoo’s Monkey House alongside an orangutan, an act widely condemned as an assault on his humanity.
Introducing the film, multidisciplinary artist, MrMorris Frimpong-Manso, said the project aimed to awaken African consciousness and challenge ongoing forms of racial injustice and exploitation.
As the Project Lead of the “Colony of Congo” initiative, he stressed the persistence of the legacy of slave trade in new forms, even though slavery and colonialism may have ended.
“What happened to Ota Benga is still happening today. We are trapped in financial, emotional, cultural and spiritual cages. To overcome this bondage, Africa must nurture its ingenuity, growth and advancement,” MrFrimpong-Manso said.
He explained that his team had earlier produced a 2015 documentary on Ota Benga, but felt the story, and others like it, remained under-told, prompting them to reintroduce it through the Chale Wote platform.
The screening sparked intense conversations around colonial legacies, the exploitation of African resources, and the human toll of systemic racism.
Many in the audience drew parallels between Ota Benga’s dehumanisation and contemporary struggles in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where conflicts over cobalt and mineral wealth continue to harm communities.
Madam Marcia Banasko, a UK-based political commentator, described the film as “disturbing,” noting her awareness of human zoos in Belgium and the United Kingdom.
“Even in the 21st century, systemic and institutional racism is rising. The film resonates with ongoing discrimination, and Africa must unite to manage its own resources. Education is key to that process,” she said.
“In Europe and the UK, the class system exists and so the movie resonates with the discrimination and exploitation people face to these days as we see in Congo. Africa needs to unite and take charge of managing our resources and education is key in doing so.”
Mr Nicholas Adzaho, a Ghanaian participant, added that the film not only highlighted injustice but also underscored how young people’s ideas were often overlooked in Africa’s developmental agenda.
The emotional screening left many in the audience reflective, reinforcing the festival’s role as a platform for dialogue on Africa’s past, present, and future.
GNA
