The Eyes of Ghana-Closing Night: The African Film Festival Atlanta (AFFATL)

A 93-year-old filmmaker races against time and fading sight to save a hidden archive that captured the birth of African independence.

The Eyes of Ghana is a powerful feature documentary that follows Chris Hesse as he works to rescue and repatriate over 1,000 unseen films shot while serving as personal cinematographer to Kwame Nkrumah. Directed by Oscar®-winning filmmaker Ben Proudfoot, the film reveals a remarkable story of history, memory, and legacy.

The African Film Festival Atlanta, now in its 5th year, continues its partnership with the Nollywood Travel Film Festival to bring powerful African stories to diverse audiences.

Ghana, United Kingdom, United States | 1 hour 30 minutes | History, Politics, Africa

93-year-old documentarian Chris Hesse stands at the center of a remarkable race against time, determined to preserve a hidden archive of over 1,000 films capturing the dawn of African independence. Directed by Oscar®-winning filmmaker Ben Proudfoot, the story follows Hesse’s urgent mission as failing eyesight threatens to silence a lifetime of work documenting history in the making.

As the search to rescue and repatriate the footage unfolds, the film weaves together the voices and efforts of collaborators, including Anita Afonu and Edmund Addo, whose perspectives help illuminate the significance of the archive. Through personal reflection and historical discovery, the journey reveals how these unseen images, many shot while documenting the era of Kwame Nkrumah, could reshape the way Ghana, Africa, and the world understand the struggle for independence.

Get a taste of the film by watching the trailer

Ben Proudfoot is the creative force behind Breakwater Studios. A watershed partnership with The New York Times produced some sixteen collaborations with over 10 million views, including A Concerto is a Conversation, which was nominated for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 93rd Academy Awards®, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject at the 94th Academy Awards®. Proudfoot won a second Academy Award®, this time for The Last Repair Shop.

Today, Breakwater Studios has expanded to multiple studio facilities in Los Feliz, where Proudfoot proudly leads twenty-three full-time filmmaking staff producing original documentaries with trusted partners like Google, LinkedIn, UNICEF, L’Oréal Paris, and Charles Schwab. Proudfoot was named one of Forbes "30 Under 30" for his leadership and innovation. He hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is a graduate of the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts.

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