DocHouse: The Eyes of Ghana

A true love letter to cinema, THE EYES OF GHANA follows 93-year-old cameraman Chris Hesse, as he races against time to rescue a secret trove of film reels that uniquely captured the birth of African independence.

Back in the 1950s and 1960s, Hesse was the personal cameraman to Ghana’s revolutionary leader Kwame Nkrumah. Always at Nkrumah's side and always filming, Hesse was witness to Africa’s tumultuous liberation movement. In 1966, Nkrumah was deposed in a coup and his rivals sought to destroy all the filmed records of his leadership, but Hesse found a way to preserve over 1000 reels.

Now in his 90s, Hesse is no less spirited and no less determined to pass on this celluloid legacy. He joins forces with filmmaker Anita Afonu to bring these barely seen reels to an audience in Accra, finally projecting a Ghanian perspective on their history.

Filled with joy, verve and a dedicated focus on the importance of self-representation, THE EYES OF GHANA is a voyage through Ghanian cinema and a portrait of the country, from cinema’s inception through to the present day.