Sankofa (Amharic: ሳንኮፋ) is a 1993 Ethiopian-produced drama film written and directed by Haile Gerima that is centered on the Atlantic slave trade.

The word Sankofa is derived from the Akan language of Ghana and means to "go back, look for, and gain wisdom, power and hope," according to Dr. Anna Julia Cooper.

The story proceeds to show Mona (Oyafunmike Ogunlano), a contemporary African-American model, in a photo session on the coast of Ghana.

[2] The session takes place at Cape Coast Castle, where she writhes on the ground as the photographer encourages her to imagine she's having sex with the camera.

Shango is named after the Yoruba god of thunder and lightning, and displays loyalty to his fellow slaves to the extent that he would risk his own life.

Shola witnesses Nunu and Shango being actively involved in a secret society that had meetings at night; its members were slaves from the Lafayette and other nearby plantations.

Throughout the film, Shola gradually transforms from being a compliant slave to a person who gains rebellious instincts after being given the Sankofa bird by Shango.

Inspired by Nunu and Shango's determination to defy the system, Shola joins them in fighting back against her masters in a rebellion.

The film[8] ends with a bird soaring high in the sky, signifying the final liberation of those who had found the true meaning of the word "Sankofa" and reconnected to their past.

(William Beik, July 1994)[11] "Haile Gerima's poetic and precisely detailed film takes its audience into its heroine's life and mind as her moral sense is challenged and changed.

"[5] "The Ethiopian-born Gerima, best known for "Bush Mama"—his 1976 portrait of an impoverished woman living in Watts—has brought a distinctive style and an often raw but always authoritative command of his medium to confront the horrors of slavery and its persisting significance, perhaps as no other filmmaker has.

It explores the themes of loss of identity and racial consciousness; respecting and returning to our ancestral roots; and recognizing the connections that exist between people of African descent who live throughout the world.