Stories shape how we see ourselves
Cinema and cultural experiences that bring history home
Premium documentaries, series, and immersive media that connect memory to modern life and markets. We work with local teams across Africa, the Americas, and Europe to co-create films, archives, and impact programmes that honour community ownership while unlocking new opportunities for the people whose stories we tell.
Stories that travel further
We're a production company with a charitable and humanitarian mission. We build cinematic worlds around global diaspora stories, pairing rigorous research and ethical practice with distribution plans that meet audiences where they are.
Premium documentaries, series, and immersive media created with cultural custodians across Africa, the Americas, and Europe.
Participant-first consent, shared ownership principles, and transparent rights frameworks keep communities in control of their narratives.
Education, archives, tourism, and entrepreneurship strands are woven into every project so cultural heritage sparks tangible outcomes.
Momentum grounded in place and practice
Our productions are labs for impact. We align cinematic craft with measurable outcomes so memory has a present-day home.
Local teams spanning Lagos, Bahia, London, and partner cities across the Atlantic.
Archival, academic, and community work powering Aguda Returns and future slates.
Film, immersive museum, education, and digital archives in an integrated ecosystem.
Tourism and creative economy partnerships linking Nigeria, Brazil, and the UK.
What guides us
We honour communities, elevate rarely told histories, and design for impact you can see and measure.
Integrity & co-creation
Participant-first consent, shared ownership principles, and transparent rights processes define every production.
Rigorous research
Seven years (and counting) of archival, academic, and oral history work keep our storytelling rooted in truth.
Festival-grade craft
Award-winning filmmakers, designers, and technologists deliver cinematic quality tuned for screens, galleries, and immersive spaces.
Distribution that travels
We plan multi-market releases so diaspora communities encounter their stories in theatres, classrooms, museums, and online.
Impact you can measure
Learning adoption, tourism, local jobs, creative services, diaspora engagement, and responsible revenue are tracked from day one.
Shared opportunity
We employ local crews, mentor emerging talent, and partner with artists and heritage custodians to keep value circulating at home.
Aguda Returns:
1830 to the Future
One community. Two continents. A great return.
Our flagship initiative is a once-in-a-generation collaboration across Nigeria, Brazil, and the diaspora.
The story of return
This is the untold story of the Aguda people - Yoruba descendants enslaved in Brazil, Cuba, and the Americas. Between the 1840s and 1890s, many bought their hard earned freedom and returned to Lagos, Nigeria. Their return was not passive. These men and women became cultural leaders, artisans, architects, spiritual figures, and entrepreneurs. They built new homes in hybrid styles, reimagined Yoruba spirituality in Afro-Brazilian churches, and left behind a profound urban, cultural, and intellectual legacy. Theirs is a boomerang tale of resilience, yet their story has been systematically erased. Until Now.
Film & premium series
Cinematic storytelling created with Aguda families, artists, and historians, filmed across Lagos, Bahia, and diaspora capitals.
Community co-creation
Consent-first research, shared ownership agreements, and revenue pathways that return value to the people whose histories we honour.
Immersive museum & learning network
Aguda heritage comes alive through traveling exhibitions, curriculum, and open-access archives.
Experience the archive
Our museum experience layers soundscapes, oral histories, architectural studies, and contemporary art to show how Aguda culture travelled and transformed. Each stop builds new community programming and commissions.
The learning network equips educators and students with the tools to teach this history with nuance. From lesson plans to digitised artefacts, we open the archive while respecting cultural stewardship.
Traveling immersive museum
Multi-sensory galleries touring Lagos, Bahia, London, and partner cities, designed with local artists and heritage custodians.
Education & digital archives
Curriculum resources, digitised collections, and mentorship programmes that place Aguda contributions in classrooms and research hubs.
Diaspora tourism & creative economy corridor
From film premieres to heritage routes, Aguda Returns translates cultural memory into shared opportunity.
Impact in motion
Aguda Returns links memory to the modern economy. Film premieres, festivals, and cultural residencies drive footfall to local businesses while amplifying Aguda innovation on the global stage.
With partners across government, philanthropy, and creative industries, we build revenue models that invest in local talent, apprenticeships, and long-term custodianship of heritage sites.
Diaspora journeys
Curated travel routes connecting sacred sites, architecture, cuisine, and contemporary creative hubs across Lagos and Bahia.
Market partnerships
Collaborations with tourism boards, cultural institutions, and investors to scale responsible experiences and jobs.
How Aguda Returns comes to life
A multi-region partnership turning memory into motion.
1830s Roots — Lagos ↔ Bahia
Families of return mapped through letters, architecture, music, and faith traditions that outlived enslavement.
Seven-year research residency
Dr. Ekua Agha and an international team documenting oral histories, archives, and community testimony with consent-first methods.
Immersive museum + film production
Traveling galleries, cinematic shoots, and participatory storytelling built with local crews and heritage custodians.
Impact pipelines & distribution
Education programmes, diaspora tourism, and market releases that return opportunity to the communities who made the story.
Community Testimonials
" Wednesday 66 turned decades of our family archives into narrative power. Their consent-first agreements and co-production model meant our elders guided every scene while positioning the film for global distribution and curriculum adoption. "
Dr. Amara Kaleo
Executive Director, Pan-Atlantic Memory Institute
" The Aguda Returns immersive museum shows how policy, culture, and commerce intertwine. Wednesday 66 choreographed a Lagos-Bahia partnership that now anchors our diaspora tourism strategy and funds community-led restoration. "
Helena Martins
Former Secretary of Culture, State of Bahia
" We invested because Wednesday 66 pairs cinematic excellence with measurable impact. Fellowships for emerging editors, accountable revenue-sharing for heritage custodians, and a clear route to global markets — they prove storytelling can restructure economies responsibly. "
Sir Kelechi Adeyemi
Chair, Global Diaspora Investment Council
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Aguda story important?
The Aguda story is a rare chapter of history where people who had been taken from West Africa returned generations later and reshaped the cities they came home to. It is a story of creativity, resilience and identity. It connects Lagos, Bahia and the wider diaspora in meaningful ways.
Are you a charity or a commercial studio?
We are structured as a production company with a social mission. Our work blends revenue-generating film and cultural projects with educational and community impact programmes. The aim is to create cultural value and financial value that benefits the communities we work with.
How do you work with communities?
We build projects with participants, not about them. We prioritise informed consent, shared authorship principles, clear rights agreements, fair pay and community review before release. People should see themselves reflected with accuracy and dignity.
Where will the film and museum project be shown?
We are developing a multi-format release including festival screenings, public exhibitions, partner museums, community screenings, schools and a digital platform. The aim is broad accessibility, not just art-world spaces.
How can I get involved?
That depends on who you are! Community members can contribute stories, documents or participate in oral history sessions.
Cultural institutions can collaborate on exhibitions or screenings.
Funders and partners can support production, distribution or education programmes.
A conversation is always the first step, so please reach out via the contact page.
Do you hire locally in project regions?
Yes! Whenever possible we ensure production, research, fabrication and facilitation work is done with local crews, scholars, craftspeople and cultural workers. Skills training and job creation are core to our approach and mission.