The Eyes of Ghana: Obama-backed film tells story of Nkrumah’s cinematographer
Oscar-winning filmmaker Ben Proudfoot has joined forces with Ugandan director Moses Bwayo and former US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama to produce The Eyes of Ghana, a forthcoming documentary that revisits Ghana’s post-independence history through the lens of Chris Hesse, the 93-year-old former personal cinematographer of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah.
According to Deadline, the film is currently in the final stages of post-production. The documentary is Proudfoot’s first feature-length project in a decade. It chronicles the rise and fall of Kwame Nkrumah, the iconic pan-Africanist who led Ghana to independence in 1957 and inspired movements for liberation across Africa during the 1950s and 1960s. A political theorist and revolutionary, Nkrumah was once featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1953, but his leadership came to a halt in 1966 following a military coup allegedly supported by the CIA.
The film places Hesse at the heart of this historical narrative. An often-overlooked figure in Ghana’s media history, Hesse secretly preserved more than 1,000 celluloid reels documenting the Nkrumah era and other major moments in Africa’s liberation struggle. The footage, which was believed to have been destroyed following the coup, is now being digitised and used to reconstruct a forgotten chapter in African and global history.
“I met Chris when he was 90,” said Proudfoot, recalling the introduction made by Ghanaian journalist and co-producer Justice Baidoo during a UNICEF shoot in Ghana. “He told me about this vast, hidden archive that he had protected for more than six decades. What began as an idea for a short film quickly evolved into something far more significant.”
Proudfoot’s vision was further shaped by conversations with Bwayo, the co-director of Bobi Wine: The People’s President, who encouraged the expansion of the project into a full-length feature. Bwayo, like Hesse, had served as a personal cameraman to a revolutionary leader and had been forced to seek political asylum in the United States after surviving violent attacks in Uganda.
Alongside Hesse, the documentary also spotlights his protégé, Ghanaian filmmaker and producer Anita Afonu, who has worked extensively on preserving Ghana’s audiovisual heritage. Together, they bring to light a rare historical archive that captures not only Nkrumah’s presidency but the broader spirit of pan-Africanism and decolonisation across the continent.
The production team includes Proudfoot and Nana Adwoa Frimpong of Breakwater Studios, Anita Afonu, Moses Bwayo, and Brandon Somerhalder, with executive production support from Barack and Michelle Obama through their company, Higher Ground. Ethan Lewis and Vinnie Malhotra also serve as producers for Higher Ground.
The documentary’s original score has been composed by Kris Bowers, who was recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for The Wild Robot.
The Eyes of Ghana adds to Proudfoot’s growing body of work that centres on unsung heroes and under-reported histories. His past accolades include two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Short Film for The Last Repair Shop and The Queen of Basketball, as well as an Oscar nomination for A Concerto is a Conversation in 2021.
With the backing of the Obamas and a globally resonant theme, The Eyes of Ghana is poised to revive historical memory and spark renewed interest in Africa’s liberation narrative through the lens of those who captured it on film.
