A documentary about one of Ghana's pioneering filmmakers is heading to cinemas across North America with backing from some very famous names. The Eyes of Ghana will have a one-night special screening in cinemas across the United States and Canada on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, according to a report by Graphic Showbiz.
The film has the support of American streamer iShowSpeed, who has joined as a producer, and former US President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, who are executive producers through their company, Higher Ground.
The Eyes of Ghana is a 90-minute documentary celebrating Rev. Dr Chris Tsui Hesse, a veteran Ghanaian filmmaker. It follows his decades-long effort to preserve more than 1,000 reels of historical footage covering Ghana's independence and the wider African liberation movement, Graphic Showbiz reports.
The film also follows his work with young filmmaker Anita Afonu and her colleagues to make the archive accessible to the public, and features the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra.
It is directed by Ben Proudfoot, a two-time Academy Award winner, and released by Breakwater Studios and Higher Ground.
According to Graphic Showbiz, Hesse began his professional career in 1954 and later worked with the film establishment that became the Ghana Film Industry Corporation. Kwame Nkrumah entrusted him with documenting presidential activities and national events, and he also filmed the 1960 Congo Crisis.
After the 1966 coup that overthrew Nkrumah, Hesse safeguarded a large collection of film material. Later in life, as his eyesight declined, he worked to recover and preserve it. He also contributed to the feature films Love Brewed in the African Pot and Heritage Africa, two landmark works of Ghanaian cinema.
His message to young filmmakers is simple. "Keep on filming," he said, according to the report.
iShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., visited Ghana earlier this year as part of his "Speed Does Africa" tour. During the trip, he went to the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, where he recreated a pose associated with Ghana's first president.
He has since shared the film's trailer with his online audience, which Graphic Showbiz says numbers more than 200 million followers across platforms. "I'm humbled by his legacy and proud to help bring his story to my community," the streamer said. Speaking about Hesse, he added: "His camera captured the birth of African independence."
The documentary premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, where it opened the documentary programme, and screened in competition at the BFI London Film Festival, Graphic Showbiz reports.
It has since won recognition at the Africa International Film Festival in Lagos, audience honours at the Hamptons and Annapolis film festivals, and the Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award at the Heartland Film Festival.
The film was screened in Ghana on April 17, 2026, at UniMAC-IFT in Accra, with Hesse and Proudfoot in attendance. A public screening at the Rex Cinema in Accra is also planned.
The October 28 screening will take place in cinemas run by major chains including Regal, AMC and Cinemark, as well as selected independent theatres in the US and Canada, according to Graphic Showbiz.
Much of the visual record of Ghana's independence era exists because of filmmakers like Hesse, whose footage captured the country's first steps as a free nation and Nkrumah's vision of African unity. Preserving that archive matters not only for Ghana but for the history of the whole continent.
With the Obamas and one of the world's biggest online personalities behind it, the film is likely to reach audiences who know little about Ghana's history. For Ghanaian viewers, it is a chance to see an important part of the nation's story told on a global stage, and to celebrate a pioneer whose work is only now getting wide recognition.
