For most of 2013, filmmaker Akosua Adoma Owusu’s time and energy has been spent promoting her semi-autobiographical film “Kwaku Ananse.” After premiering the film at the Berlinale, Toronto, and London film festivals (where she received tremendous accolades), Owusu returned to Accra to begin her next project, “Damn the Man, Save the REX.”

The REX Cinema, located in Ghana’s capital city Accra, was built in the mid-20th Century by Ghana’s first president – Kwame Nkrumah. Once a vibrant and well-attended theatre, it now sits largely unused.

Determined not to let Ghana’s growing cinematic culture slip into decline, Owusu has put her passionate, creative drive to work reviving The REX Cinema.

Just last week, she launched a Kickstarter Campaign, also titled “Damn the Man, Save the REX,” through which she hopes to raise $8,000. The money will be used to transform The REX into a creative space that can be used not only by aspiring filmmakers, but musicians and other artists as well.

“My project, is about preserving Ghana’s cultural heritage, and is extremely personal to me,” she says. “Africans and Africans of the Diaspora can offer something real and valuable to the world of cinema…”

With the money raised through Kickstarter, Owusu will purchase video and film projectors, install a sound system, install lights, clean and repair the facility. The venue’s first event will be a screening of Owusu’s own, award-winning film, Kwaku Ananse with a concert by Koo Nimo, Kyekyeku, Nana Asaase, and This House is Not For Sale.

Owusu is hopeful that her ambitious endeavor will inspire young Ghanaian creatives to explore and develop their gifts, and share them with the world.

More information is available via the Kickstarter campaign page: http://kck.st/1bbdYmv