The first trailer for The Eyes of Ghana arrived online this week through DiscussingFilm. The archival documentary is directed by two-time Academy Award winner Ben Proudfoot, and it comes with an unusual pair of credits: Barack and Michelle Obama are executive producers through Higher Ground, while the streamer Darren "IShowSpeed" Watkins Jr. has a producer credit, his first on a feature film.

Official trailer for ‘The Eyes of Ghana’

The documentary centers on Reverend Dr. Chris Tsui Hesse, the personal cinematographer to Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first president. Through Nkrumah’s presidency in the late 1950s and 1960s, Hesse filmed speeches, state visits, and rallies at the height of the Pan-African independence movement.

The 1966 coup and the hidden archives

When Nkrumah was overthrown in a military coup in February 1966, soldiers and coup leaders targeted the state archives and the Ghana Film Industry Corporation, ordering the destruction of records and celluloid relating to the deposed president.

Hesse acted in secret. Over several weeks he packed over 1,300 film reels, more than 200 hours of footage, and hid them in basements, underground vaults, and private storage across Accra so they could not be confiscated or burned. The collection includes recordings of figures like Malcolm X, Che Guevara, Queen Elizabeth II, and leaders from across the African continent during their visits to newly independent Ghana.

A title card from the trailer credits Barack and Michelle Obama as executive producers

The team behind the film

Now in his nineties and experiencing failing eyesight, Hesse has spent years working to catalog and digitize the decaying reels. The documentary tracks his partnership with Ghanaian filmmaker and preservationist Anita Afonu, who has spent over a decade recovering Ghana's film heritage and hosting public screenings in Accra.

The producers are Breakwater Studios, Anita Afonu, Nana Adwoa Frimpong, and Moses Bwayo. IShowSpeed joined the production team after his visit to Ghana earlier this year and used his online following to bring attention to the archival footage. Kris Bowers composed the original score.

The Eyes of Ghana opens in North American theaters for a one-night release on October 28, 2026, with screenings in the United Kingdom and Ghana to follow.