by Charles Kirkland, Jr.
Oscar-winning director Ben Proudfoot leads the audience through the life and work of Chris Hesse and his efforts to save a critical part of Ghanaian culture in The Eyes of Ghana.
At 93 years old, legendary Ghanaian documentarian Chris Hesse, once the personal cameraman to visionary but now overlooked African leader Kwame Nkrumah, is in a race against time and fading eyesight. As progressive glaucoma threatens to steal his vision, Hesse urgently works to rescue and repatriate a hidden archive of more than 1,000 reels of film, priceless footage that captures the birth of African independence in the 1950s and 1960s.
Directed by Oscar-winner Ben Proudfoot, The Eyes of Ghana is a powerful and deeply resonant documentary that begins as a portrait of Hesse but quickly broadens into a sweeping meditation on the enduring power of film, the legacy of anti-colonial revolution, and the cultural memory of a continent.
Proudfoot introduces us to Hesse at a poignant moment, during a doctor’s visit to assess his deteriorating eyesight. Yet, his vision as a filmmaker and historian remains undimmed. The irony is inescapable: a man who spent his life seeing so much now struggles to see at all. Through the lens of Anita Afonu, a young Ghanaian filmmaker and passionate advocate for film preservation, Proudfoot offers a glimmer of hope and continuity. Afonu’s reverence for Hesse’s work serves as a bridge between generations and a reminder of what is at stake.
As Nkrumah’s personal documentarian, Hesse captured a revolution from the hopeful early days of Ghana’s independence to the larger Pan-Africanist dream that Nkrumah pursued. His camera witnessed not only political milestones but also the cultural awakening of a nation. A student of American cinema, Nkrumah understood the power of film as both a tool for national education and, at times, a vehicle for propaganda. He allowed Hesse to frame its rise.
Running parallel to Hesse’s story is the haunting image of the once-grand Rex Cinema, now a relic of its former self: cluttered, decaying, and nearly lost to time. Projectionist Edmund Addo shares the emotional history of the theater, offering a quiet but stirring testament to the role that communal filmgoing once played in Ghanaian life.
Proudfoot’s direction is both tender and unflinching. He masterfully blends archival footage with vibrantly shot present-day scenes, crafting a narrative that feels intimate and epic all at once. His signature close-ups are intrusive and uncomfortably personal; they capture more than just faces, they reveal truths. Every wrinkle, every glance, every tear is rendered in full, unvarnished humanity.
The film is further elevated by a soaring, soul-stirring score from Kris Bowers, reuniting with Proudfoot after their Oscar-winning collaboration on The Last Repair Shop. Bowers’ compositions deepen the film’s emotional gravity and cultural richness, adding layers of resonance to each moment.
The Eyes of Ghana is more than a documentary. It is an urgent act of preservation, a tribute to the resilience of a culture, and a reclamation of a history silenced and forgotten. It honors a man who spent his life capturing history through a lens, even as the world looked away. It reminds us that while memory can fade, film remembers—and endures. We must fight to save it.
Grade: B+
