Halifax Oscar-winning filmmaker Ben Proudfoot uncovers history in new feature film

Halifax filmmaker Ben Proudfoot’s new documentary explores an untold story of African liberation.

Two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker from Halifax, Ben Proudfoot, says he never expected a chance encounter in Ghana to lead to a feature-length documentary — but that’s exactly what happened with “The Eyes of Ghana.”

“I was in Accra making a film for UNICEF in the summer of 2021, and I was driving along when I saw a statue of Kwame Nkrumah,” said Proudfoot in an interview with CTV News Atlantic’s Katie Kelly.

“I said, ‘Who’s Kwame Nkrumah?’ And I couldn’t believe it — here’s this Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr.-level revolutionary, and we just didn’t learn about him in school.”

When Proudfoot asked if anyone who knew Nkrumah was still alive, he was told the president’s former personal cinematographer lived nearby.

That man was Chris Hesse, now 93, who spent decades as Nkrumah’s cameraman. In 1966, after the president was ousted in a coup, Hesse’s films were piled up and burned.

“It was thought that all those films were lost to history,” said Proudfoot. “But Chris told me he had saved a copy in a vault in London.”

The discovery opened up an archive of more than 1,300 reels of 16mm and 35mm film.

“It’s only by a miracle that they’ve survived,” said Proudfoot.

“Through them you get the story of the rise and fall of Kwame Nkrumah. You’re going to go from zero — if you’ve never heard his name — to understanding the basics of what happened in his political career, through the eyes of someone who knew him intimately.”

The film also caught the attention of Barack and Michelle Obama, who came on board as executive producers.

“There’s a very unique connection here,” said Proudfoot.

“Barack Obama Sr. was born in Kenya, and in one of the films that shows in the movie, Kwame Nkrumah is giving a speech next to Tom Mboya — a Kenyan liberation leader who mentored Obama’s father,“ he said.

“President Obama and Mrs. Obama are very interested in amplifying African history, and they’ve been consummate partners.”

Since premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, “The Eyes of Ghana” has been making its way around the festival circuit — including screenings at the Atlantic International Film Festival and the Lunenburg Doc Fest.

“Park Lane is where I grew up watching movies. That was a trip,” said Proudfoot.

For Proudfoot, this is a project he hopes will inspire viewers.

“You’re going to meet a lot of characters you’ll fall in love with, and you’re going to learn a lot about that part of history. Hopefully, you’ll be moved by the story.”

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