Ghanaian filmmaker and cultural practitioner Junaid Timtooni Yakubu, known professionally as Timtooni, has received the Prince Claus Fund SEED Award 2026, joining a cohort of emerging artists and cultural practitioners whose work engages with social and political issues in their local contexts.
The award comes with €5,000 for recipients to invest in their artistic and cultural practice, alongside international recognition, connections and opportunities. According to the Prince Claus Fund, the support is meant to give emerging creatives the freedom to deepen their work and explore new directions.
Timtooni is based in Tamale and works across film and video art. His practice is centred on reclaiming narratives about Northern Ghana beyond stereotypes. He is also the founder of Cinematheque Timtooni, an outdoor cinema initiative, and has worked to strengthen opportunities for filmmakers and audiences in the region.
The SEED Award recognises that wider creative practice, and the grant gives recipients discretion over how the funding is invested. It arrives as Timtooni develops a new film rooted in the social realities of Tamale.
That film is Maltiti (Build For Us), a short drama written and directed by Timtooni, produced by Najaat Suhuyini Hussein and made by Mariyak Studios. Set in Tamale and told in Dagbani, it follows Maltiti, a gifted young woman whose university ambitions are put on hold as her family struggles financially.
The film examines the pressures facing young people whose education and futures are delayed by economic circumstances, and the difficult choices that can emerge from prolonged uncertainty. Timtooni’s intention is to place audiences close to Maltiti’s experience and decisions as she tries to reclaim control of her future.
Plans for Maltiti include festival circulation in Ghana and internationally, followed by screenings for audiences in Tamale through Cinematheque Timtooni.
ANANSESƐM will continue to follow the project and report as new information becomes available.
