Curtis Essel is a Ghanaian-British filmmaker based in London, whose work explores the intersections of memory, identity, and perception through experimental visual techniques. Essel’s films blend intimacy and abstraction, inviting audiences to reflect on the personal and collective experiences that shape the understanding of our world.

 

His debut short film AGYA won the ARRAY Now & Getty Images Grant and the Best Documentary Award at the BFI Future Film Festival. Essel’s subsequent work, ALLUMUAH, was recognised as Best Experimental Film of the Year by Vimeo.

 

Essel’s moving image works have been exhibited and screened internationally at prestigious venues such as BFI Future Film Festival, 2019, BlackStar Philadelphia Film Festival, 2019, 2020, Tribeca Film Festival 2020, and the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (2020). His work has also been showcased at Whitespace Creative Arts Foundation, Lagos, Sarah Kravitz Gallery, London,  and ICA Boston.

 

His films have been featured in Nowness, It’s Nice That, Vimeo, Huck, and NativeMag, gaining recognition for their dynamic perspectives and thought-provoking narratives that challenge conventional storytelling approaches.