IShowSpeed Partners With Breakwater Studios, Obamas’ Higher Ground to Bring ‘The Eyes of Ghana’ Doc to Theaters (EXCLUSIVE)
IShowSpeed has partnered with Breakwater Studios and Higher Ground, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama, to bring the documentary “The Eyes of Ghana” to cinemas for a one-night screening on 28 October. The collaboration matters because it links the streamer’s large online audience with a film preserving a significant part of Ghanaian and African history.
Directed by Ben Proudfoot, the documentary follows cinematographer Chris Hesse as he tries to save more than 1,000 films documenting Africa’s independence movements in the 1950s and 1960s, while his eyesight declines. The films were hidden for decades after the 1996 overthrow of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah; screenings are planned at Regal, AMC, Cinemark and other cinemas. IShowSpeed, whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., has more than 200 million followers and subscribers across platforms.
- IShowSpeed is helping bring “The Eyes of Ghana” to cinemas.
- The one-night screening is set for 28 October.
- The film follows efforts to preserve more than 1,000 historic films.
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Ghana became independent from Britain in 1957, during a wave of movements that ended colonial rule across Africa. Its first president, Kwame Nkrumah, was overthrown in 1966, and films documenting independence struggles across the continent were hidden for decades.
Cinematographer Chris Hesse filmed many of those events. The documentary follows his effort to preserve more than 1,000 films as his eyesight declines. IShowSpeed, the online creator whose real name is Darren Watkins Jr., has a large audience across social media; Breakwater Studios and Higher Ground are film production companies, with Higher Ground founded by Barack and Michelle Obama.