Director of The Eyes of Ghana, Ben Proudfoot will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.
Two-time Academy Award-winner Ben Proudfoot returns to Doc Stories with his feature debut, which tells the enchanting story of Ghanaian documentarian Chris Hesse. At 93 years old, Chris reflects back on the early days of his career as a personal cinematographer for former Ghanaian president and revolutionary Kwame Nkrumah. Hesse’s proximity to Nkrumah allowed him to serve as keen witness and documentarian of what became the genesis of the African independence movement of the 1950s and ’60s, a watershed period in African history that resisted colonial rule. With his memories and vision fading, Hesse teams up with a new generation of African filmmakers to repatriate a treasure trove of films thought to have been destroyed in the coup that put an end to Nkrumah’s reign. Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama and Moses Bwayo (Bobi Wine: The People’s President 2022) this inspirational journey to reclaim lost histories and cultural memories gives hope for future generations. – Jordan Klein
This film will be preceded by the short film In My Day, directed by Iga Lis (Poland, 12 min).
Captured in the quotidian poetry of the phone call, conversations between grandmothers and granddaughters shed light on intergenerational inheritance and evolution.