Kris Bowers On Creating A Love Letter To Ghana & Film History With His Score For ‘The Eyes Of Ghana’ – Sound & Screen Film

Kris Bowers says his score for the documentary The Eyes of Ghana was intended as a tribute to Ghana and film history. The film follows Chris Hesse, a 93-year-old cinematographer whose archive preserves footage from Ghana’s liberation era, bringing images and stories thought lost back to public view.

The footage was made during the rule of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, who led decolonial efforts before being toppled in a 1966 coup. Films from that period were ordered burned, but Hesse safeguarded surviving reels for more than 60 years, with filmmaker Anita Afonu also featured. Directed by Ben Proudfoot, the documentary was released in a one-night North American cinema event on 28 October and has screened in Accra and London.