Nigerian filmmaker Adé Sultan Sangodoyin’s We Must Begin Again, Together has been selected to screen at the 23rd Afrika Film Festival Köln 2026, marking the film’s world premiere.
Starring Teniola Aladese and Patrick Diabuah, the film follows a woman whose world unravels after discovering her husband is having an affair with her brother. Set within a conservative community where identity and secrecy shape survival, the story explores betrayal, empathy and fractured relationships.
Speaking with The Nollywood Reporter, Sangodoyin said the film draws from themes that remain relevant across many African societies, including family, community, growth and reconciliation.
“It invites audiences to reflect and confront themselves and their worldview, not only as individuals, but also as communities,” he said. “I believe those conversations are necessary in the world we live in today.”
The filmmaker described the film’s selection at Afrika Film Festival Köln as especially meaningful because of the festival’s long-standing support for African cinema and filmmakers across the continent.
According to Sangodoyin, filmmakers such as Idrissa Ouedraogo, Tunde Kelani, Ousmane Sembène, Souleymane Cissé and Mahamat-Saleh Haroun played an important role in shaping his understanding of cinema while he was developing his craft.
“They showed that stories rooted in our histories, cultures and lived experiences could resonate far beyond the continent,” he said.
Sangodoyin added that he sees today’s generation of African and diaspora filmmakers as continuing that conversation by expanding the possibilities of African storytelling across genres, styles and perspectives.
“I am trying to contribute my voice to that ongoing tradition,” he said. “Having this film premiere at the Afrika Film Festival Köln makes that feel especially significant.”
The filmmaker also reflected on the long journey behind the project, revealing that financing remained one of the production’s biggest challenges. However, he said the delays ultimately gave him more time to strengthen the screenplay.
“From conceiving the story in 2021 to shooting it in 2025, I kept returning to the script, questioning it, rewriting it and deepening it,” he explained. “Had we made the film earlier, I don’t think it would have been as strong.”
Beyond script development, Sangodoyin said the production process also taught him practical lessons about directing actors, managing time and working with different personalities on set.
Still, he described patience as the most important lesson he learned throughout the process.
“Instead of feeling frustrated while raising resources, I redirected that energy into improving the script,” he said. “By the time we reached production, the story had become much stronger than when I first conceived it.”
Looking ahead, the filmmaker said the team hopes to screen the film at more festivals and eventually bring it to local audiences as well as cultural and educational spaces where conversations around its themes can continue.
Above all, Sangodoyin said he hopes audiences leave the film thinking about empathy.
“I hope audiences leave asking themselves what they are capable of, not in easy circumstances, but in difficult ones,” he said.
