Nkrumah's cameraman, the Obamas and IShowSpeed take "The Eyes of Ghana" to US cinemas
The documentary follows Chris Hesse, 93, who smuggled Ghana's independence-era film reels to London after the 1966 coup and is now working to bring them home. It shows in US cinemas on 28 October.
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Accra — A documentary about the man who filmed Ghana's birth as a nation is heading for American cinemas, MyJoyOnline reports. The Eyes of Ghana will have a one-night screening at cinemas across the United States on 28 October, presented by the streamer IShowSpeed and executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama.
Who it is about
Chris Hesse, now 93, was personal cameraman to Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah. After the 1966 coup that removed Nkrumah, he secretly moved the negatives to London. Despite failing eyesight, he is working to preserve and bring home more than 1,000 reels of footage from Ghana's independence era and the wider African liberation movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
The film
- Directed by Ben Proudfoot, a two-time Academy Award winner, and produced by Breakwater Studios and the Obamas' Higher Ground Productions
- Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025, won the audience award for best documentary at the Hamptons International Film Festival and screened at the BFI London Film Festival
- Had its Ghana premiere at the National Theatre in Accra in April 2026, followed by a screening at the University of Ghana
IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr, said his visit to Ghana earlier this year deepened his connection to the country and that he was honoured to help bring Hesse's story to a wider audience. Proudfoot hopes the film can be shown free in schools across Ghana so that students can see the archive footage of their country's past.
Dates for screenings in Ghana and the UK have not been announced. Tickets and the list of cinemas are on the film's website, theeyesofghana.com.
Source: MyJoyOnline, 17 October 2026.
