In the 1960s, Tété-Michel Kpomassie set off on a decade-long journey from his home in Togo to the Arctic, becoming the first African we know of to explore Greenland. He chronicled his journey in his book, An African in Greenland. More than half a century later, Nigerian-born storytellers, Lola Akinmade and Noo Saro-Wiwa, whose careers were inspired by Kpomassie’s work, teamed up with Swedish videographer Erik Jaråker to follow in Kpomassie’s footsteps. Winners of the inaugural Hidden Compass Pathfinder Prize, the trio voyaged to Greenland on a cultural expedition, exploring the question: Who gets to tell the story of a place?

“In Tété’s Footsteps” was the 2023 winner of the Hidden Compass Pathfinder Prize — an annual grant to fund an expedition and documentary short that embodies our modern age of exploration. Learn more about Hidden Compass at www.hiddencompass.net.