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The Eyes of Ghana

Play trailer Poster for The Eyes of Ghana 2025 1h 30m Documentary Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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94% Tomatometer 16 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
From Oscar®-winning director Ben Proudfoot, THE EYES OF GHANA is a stunning feature documentary following 93-year-old documentarian Chris Hesse--personal cinematographer to forgotten African icon Kwame Nkrumah--as he races against blindness and time to rescue and repatriate a secret trove of over 1,300 films that captured the birth of African independence in the fifties and sixties. Yet unseen by the public, these films may not only rewrite Ghanaian and African history--but world history itself.

Critics Reviews

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Robert Daniels RogerEbert.com It’s one of those films whose desire to tell a little-known story grants it some slack, but whose unsteady execution quickly evaporates much of the goodwill you came into it with. Oct 27, 2025 Full Review Christian Zilko IndieWire Hesse is infectiously charismatic, and seeing 15 minutes of his film footage digitized for the first time is a treat for history buffs. Rated: B Oct 24, 2025 Full Review Wendy Ide Screen International The exchange of ideas gives the film its vital energy: Hesse lectures to an appreciative audience of young Ghanaian filmmakers and encourages them to ask questions of him. Oct 9, 2025 Full Review Clotilde Chinnici Loud and Clear Reviews Overall, The Eyes of Ghana is a very good historical lesson, but does it work as a documentary? Unfortunately, not quite as much. Rated: 3/5 Oct 24, 2025 Full Review Daniel Howat Next Best Picture It stands as a tribute to the power of storytelling, the influence of the moving image, and the enduring spirit of revolution in all its forms. Rated: 8/10 Oct 23, 2025 Full Review Brooke Obie Black Girl Watching An inspiring opus of not only Kwame Nkrumah’s but Chris Hesse’s life and the urgency of African filmmaking and historical preservation. Sep 20, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

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Ben Proudfoot

Director

Edmund Addo

Self

Anita Afonu

Self

Chris Hesse

Self

Chris Tsui Hesse

Self

Anita Afonu

Producer
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The Eyes of Ghana

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Movie Info

Synopsis From Oscar®-winning director Ben Proudfoot, THE EYES OF GHANA is a stunning feature documentary following 93-year-old documentarian Chris Hesse--personal cinematographer to forgotten African icon Kwame Nkrumah--as he races against blindness and time to rescue and repatriate a secret trove of over 1,300 films that captured the birth of African independence in the fifties and sixties. Yet unseen by the public, these films may not only rewrite Ghanaian and African history--but world history itself.
Director
Ben Proudfoot
Producer
Anita Afonu, Moses Bwayo, Nana Adwoa Frimpong, Ethan Lewis, Vinnie Malhotra, Ben Proudfoot, Brandon Somerhalder
Production Co
Breakwater Studios, Higher Ground Productions
Genre
Documentary, Biography
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 30m