American streamer iShowSpeed has joined former US President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama as a producer of The Eyes of Ghana, the documentary about veteran Ghanaian cinematographer Rev. Dr Chris Tsui Hesse, ahead of its North American cinema release.
The 90-minute film, directed by two-time Academy Award winner Ben Proudfoot, premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Its upcoming special one-night screening across cinemas in the United States and Canada on Wednesday, 28 October 2026, will give the documentary a wider audience.
iShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins, joined the project after visiting Ghana earlier this year and connecting with the country’s history. He has since shared the film’s official trailer as part of efforts to introduce Hesse’s story to his global following.
The theatrical event is being organised by Breakwater Studios and Higher Ground, the production company established by the Obamas. Participating cinemas include Regal, AMC and Cinemark, alongside selected independent cinemas and other theatre chains.
The Eyes of Ghana follows Hesse’s efforts to preserve more than 1,000 reels of historical footage documenting Ghana’s independence and the wider African liberation movement during the 1950s and 1960s.
Chris Hesse’s mission to preserve Ghana’s history
At the heart of The Eyes of Ghana is Hesse, a veteran Ghanaian cinematographer, filmmaker, photographer and Presbyterian minister whose work has preserved a visual record of the country’s political and cultural development.
Born in Osu, Accra, Hesse began his professional career in 1954, joining the film establishment that later became the Ghana Film Industry Corporation (GFIC). His work eventually brought him to the attention of Ghana’s first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who entrusted him with documenting presidential activities and significant events during the country’s formative years as an independent nation.
Beyond his work for the presidency, Hesse documented major political developments and produced newsreels and documentaries. He also contributed to celebrated Ghanaian feature films, including Kwaw Ansah’s Love Brewed in the African Pot and Heritage Africa. His international assignments included documenting the Congo Crisis for worldwide distribution in 1960.
Following the 1966 military coup that overthrew Nkrumah, Hesse safeguarded a vast collection of film material that might otherwise have been lost. The archive captures pivotal moments in Ghana’s post-independence history and the wider struggle for African liberation.
The films remained largely unseen for decades. As his eyesight deteriorated with age, Hesse embarked on a race against time to recover, preserve and make the historical material accessible to the public.
His mission also involved passing the responsibility to a younger generation. Working with young Ghanaian filmmaker Anita Afonu and her colleagues, Hesse sought to ensure that they understood the significance of the footage and continued documenting the country’s story.
Their efforts lead towards a public screening at Accra’s historic Rex Cinema, offering audiences an opportunity to see images that have remained outside public view for generations.
The documentary came about after Hesse met Proudfoot through a chance encounter several years ago and entrusted the filmmaker with telling his story.
iShowSpeed’s connection to Ghana
For iShowSpeed, the project has a personal significance. During his Speed Does Africa tour earlier in 2026, the 21-year-old creator visited Ghana, described himself as being “back home” and spoke about his Ghanaian ancestry.
His visit included the Kwame Nkrumah monument in Accra, a landmark that features prominently in The Eyes of Ghana. At the monument, he recreated the pose associated with Nkrumah, the leader whose political life Hesse spent years documenting.
In a statement, iShowSpeed said: “It is a great honor to be part of The Eyes of Ghana and help bring this extraordinary piece of history to the big screen. I felt a profound connection to Ghana when I visited this year, and learning about Chris Hesse’s work deepened my understanding of the country and its people.”
He added: “His camera captured the birth of African independence, and his determination to preserve those images has ensured that future generations can witness it for themselves. I’m humbled by his legacy and proud to help bring his story to my community.”
With more than 200 million followers across platforms, iShowSpeed is one of the most recognisable figures in online entertainment. A two-time Streamer of the Year, he was named the “World’s Most Influential Creator” by Rolling Stone in 2025 and was included among TIME Magazine’s Most Influential Creators in 2026.
His involvement connects Hesse’s historical work with a younger international audience, bringing the story of Ghana’s independence-era film archive to viewers who may not have encountered it during the documentary’s earlier festival screenings.
Obamas and Higher Ground support the release
Barack and Michelle Obama serve as executive producers through Higher Ground, the production company they established to support stories with cultural and social significance.
Ethan Lewis, Head of Non-Fiction at Higher Ground, said Hesse’s decades of work protecting Ghanaian and African history made the documentary particularly important.
“Chris Hesse spent more than six decades documenting and safeguarding an extraordinary chapter of Ghanaian and African history,” Lewis said.
He added that Higher Ground was proud to partner with iShowSpeed, Proudfoot, Breakwater Studios and the production team to bring the film to cinemas on 28 October.
The partnership focuses on taking the existing documentary to a wider cinema audience, highlighting the role of film in preserving collective memory and ensuring that historical accounts reach future generations.
International recognition
Before the announcement of the North American theatrical release, The Eyes of Ghana had already received international recognition. It opened the documentary programme at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and later screened in competition at the BFI London Film Festival.
Its honours include the Special Jury Prize and Best Documentary at the Africa International Film Festival in Lagos, audience awards at the Hamptons International and Annapolis Film Festivals, and the Jimmy Stewart Legacy Award at the Heartland Film Festival.
Critics have described the film as “a superb movie” and “a love letter to the power of cinema”.
Brandon Somerhalder served as cinematographer, shooting across several formats, including sequences captured on IMAX 65mm film using a camera provided courtesy of IMAX.
Somerhalder also photographed the Oscar-nominated 2025 documentary Come See Me in the Good Light and received an American Society of Cinematographers Award nomination for his work.
The film’s producers include Proudfoot, Nana Adwoa Frimpong, Oscar-nominated documentarian Moses Bwayo, Anita Afonu, Somerhalder, Lewis, Vinnie Malhotra and Darren Watkins, credited as iShowSpeed.
Other executive producers include Sir John Akomfrah, Kofi Amoo-Gottfried, Paula Madison, Dan and Lian Gill, Max Johnson, Jonathan E. Lim, Michael Risley, Josh Rosenberg, David Treatman and Esther Wojcicki, alongside Barack and Michelle Obama.
The original score was composed by Academy Award winner Kris Bowers, a frequent collaborator of Proudfoot. The music was recorded with the Chineke! Orchestra and Ghanaian musicians at Abbey Road Studios.
Bringing Ghana’s film heritage to a wider audience
The 28 October screenings follow the growing presence of online creators in cinema distribution and box-office campaigns. Through the partnership, iShowSpeed, Higher Ground and Breakwater Studios are encouraging audiences to attend the one-night event.
For Ghana, the release brings renewed attention to Hesse’s contribution to the country’s film history and his efforts to prevent an important visual archive from disappearing.
His work has preserved images of Ghana’s emergence as an independent nation and the wider African struggle for liberation. By involving younger filmmakers in the preservation effort, he is also helping pass that responsibility to a new generation.
The message he has shared with the young filmmakers working alongside him is simple: “keep on filming.”
With its international festival screenings already completed, The Eyes of Ghana is preparing for a wider North American theatrical outing, with iShowSpeed’s involvement expected to help introduce Hesse’s story to audiences beyond Ghana and bring further attention to the importance of preserving the country’s historical film archive.
Source: myjoyonline.com
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