Ben Proudfoot’s The Eyes of Ghana brings Chris Hesse’s rescued film archive to North American cinemas for a one-night event on October 28, 2026.
A vital record of Ghanaian independence and African liberation is heading to the big screen. Ben Proudfoot’s documentary The Eyes of Ghana will play in participating AMC, Regal, Cinemark and independent cinemas across the United States and Canada on October 28, 2026, as a one-night theatrical event.
Presented by Breakwater Studios and Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground, the release gives North American audiences an opportunity to encounter Ghanaian screen history in cinemas. It also raises a question with deep relevance across African filmmaking: who preserves the continent’s moving images, and how can those images be returned to the communities whose stories they hold?
Chris Hesse’s mission drives The Eyes of Ghana
Directed by two-time Academy Award winner Proudfoot, The Eyes of Ghana follows 93-year-old Ghanaian cinematographer Chris Hesse and his effort to rescue and repatriate more than 1,300 films. The archive documents Ghana’s independence as well as wider liberation movements across Africa.
That focus makes this Filmmaker Spotlight more than a release announcement. For Nollywood filmmakers, producers and audiences, Hesse’s work illustrates why preservation is part of filmmaking itself. Without functioning archives and accessible distribution, important African images can disappear from public memory even when the films physically survive.
A major production built for the cinema
The documentary combines African historical material with an ambitious contemporary production. Cinematographer Brandon Somerhalder photographed portions of the film on IMAX 65mm, while Kris Bowers composed the score. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios with the Chineke! Orchestra and Ghanaian musicians.
Darren Watkins, widely known as IShowSpeed, joined the project as a producer. Barack and Michelle Obama serve as executive producers through Higher Ground, extending the documentary’s reach across traditional cinema audiences and online communities.
The film arrives with encouraging audience signals. It previously won documentary audience awards at the Hamptons and Annapolis film festivals, followed by Best Documentary and a Special Jury Prize at AFRIFF in Lagos.
Accra audiences will have their own screening
A separate free screening is scheduled for October 31, 2026, at Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra. Online registration has already reached capacity, with Dikan opening a waitlist for possible additional access.
Between the North American theatrical event and the Accra presentation, The Eyes of Ghana demonstrates how preservation, repatriation and distribution can work together. The archive at its centre belongs to history, but its journey back into cinemas is also a story about the future of African screen heritage.
Join the conversation
What can African film industries do to make historic screen archives more accessible to new generations?
Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Sources
Source links used to research and verify this article:
The Eyes of Ghana Official WebsiteBroadwayWorld
Dikan Center
AFI Fest
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