The Eyes of Ghana is more than a historical documentary—it is an act of cultural recovery. And for Oscar-winning composer Kris Bowers, scoring The Eyes of Ghana meant creating music that honors both Ghana’s past and the power of cinema to preserve what history tried to erase.
Speaking during Deadline’s Sound & Screen Film event, Bowers described the project as “a love letter to Ghana and to the history of film.” That phrase captures why The Eyes of Ghana is drawing attention across the TV & video world: the documentary combines political history, rediscovered archival footage, and an emotional score to tell a story that feels urgent in 2026.
The Eyes of Ghana and the Story It Brings Back to Light
Directed by Ben Proudfoot, The Eyes of Ghana centers on Chris Hesse, the 93-year-old cinematographer who filmed Ghana’s founding president, Kwame Nkrumah. Long overlooked, Hesse now stands at the heart of a remarkable story about image-making, memory, and resistance.
The documentary traces the rise and fall of Nkrumah, a defining figure in African decolonization and Ghana’s first president. After he was removed in a 1966 military coup widely linked to CIA involvement, films from his era were reportedly ordered destroyed. That is what makes Hesse’s role so extraordinary: he quietly preserved a vast archive of celluloid footage from Africa’s liberation period for more than six decades.
In The Eyes of Ghana, Hesse is joined in spirit and legacy by his protégé, filmmaker and producer Anita Afonu. Together, their work reframes lost film history not as a footnote, but as a living archive with global significance.
Why this documentary matters now
- It restores overlooked African film history to a mainstream audience.
- It highlights the role of archivists and cinematographers in protecting cultural truth.
- It connects political power, media representation, and historical memory.
- It shows how documentary cinema can reshape the public record.
Kris Bowers’ Emotional Connection to The Eyes of Ghana
Bowers previously collaborated with Proudfoot on The Last Repair Shop, the 2023 short that went on to win the Oscar for Documentary Short Film in 2024. That creative trust appears to have carried directly into The Eyes of Ghana, but this project struck a particularly personal chord.
According to Bowers, he first watched a sizzle reel sent by Proudfoot while sitting in his car. The footage left him deeply moved, especially as a Black artist confronting how much ancestral and visual history has been lost, hidden, or erased. The existence of preserved images from that era—images of people and places rarely seen in dominant historical narratives—helped shape his emotional response to the film.
That reaction is central to understanding the score. Rather than simply underscoring plot points, Bowers’ music appears designed to bridge personal grief, collective pride, and cinematic wonder. In that sense, The Eyes of Ghana becomes not just a documentary, but a sensory experience built on remembrance.
What Bowers brings to the film
Kris Bowers has built a reputation for emotionally intelligent composition across film and television. His involvement gives The Eyes of Ghana additional artistic weight because he excels at blending intimacy with historical scale.
His approach here can be understood through three key ideas:
- Respect for place: the score aims to honor Ghana rather than merely decorate the story.
- Respect for cinema: the music reflects the film’s archival roots and visual history.
- Respect for memory: the emotional tone acknowledges loss without reducing the story to tragedy.
A Documentary Backed by Major Names and Global Interest
The Eyes of Ghana also arrives with notable industry support. The film was produced by Ben Proudfoot and Nana Adwoa Frimpong for Breakwater Studios, alongside Anita Afonu, Bwayo, and Brandon Somerhalder, with Higher Ground’s Ethan Lewis and Vinnie Malhotra also producing. Barack and Michelle Obama serve as executive producers, bringing added visibility to a documentary already rich in historical importance.
Another unexpected name attached to the project is content creator IShowSpeed, whose involvement broadens the film’s cultural reach beyond traditional documentary audiences. That mix of prestige filmmaking and digital-era visibility may help The Eyes of Ghana connect with younger viewers discovering African political history through video-first platforms.
The release strategy reflects that ambition. The documentary debuted as a one-night theatrical event across the U.S. and Canada on October 28, followed by a sold-out run at DocHouse in London and a screening at the Dikan Center in Accra. Those locations underline the film’s cross-continental resonance.
Why The Eyes of Ghana Could Have Lasting Cultural Impact
Many documentaries illuminate forgotten stories, but The Eyes of Ghana stands out because it deals with footage once believed lost forever. That changes the stakes. This is not only a story about the past—it is a story about the survival of evidence.
In today’s visual culture, where video defines public memory, Hesse’s archive feels profoundly relevant. The film reminds audiences that whoever controls images often shapes history itself. By preserving reels from a pivotal era in African liberation, Hesse did more than save film stock; he helped protect historical perspective.
For viewers interested in TV & video, documentary filmmaking, archival restoration, or Black history on screen, The Eyes of Ghana offers a rare convergence of all four. And with Bowers’ score elevating the material, the film is positioned as both an awards contender and a meaningful conversation starter.
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Final Take on The Eyes of Ghana
The Eyes of Ghana is a powerful reminder that film can rescue memory from silence. With Ben Proudfoot directing, Chris Hesse’s preserved archive at the center, and Kris Bowers crafting a score rooted in emotion and respect, The Eyes of Ghana emerges as one of the most compelling documentary stories in TV & video right now.
The clearest takeaway is this: The Eyes of Ghana is not only about what was lost, but about what was saved—and why that survival still matters today.
