On 31 August 2026, on the International Day for People of African Descent, the UN Movie Society of the United Nations Staff Recreation Council is honoured to present a special conversation with two-time Academy Award®-winning director Ben Proudfoot, director of THE EYES OF GHANA.
On this occasion, opening remarks will be delivered by H.E. Mr. Samuel Yao Kumah, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative of Ghana to the United Nations. Executive produced by former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama, THE EYES OF GHANA is a documentary feature by two-time Academy Award-winning director Ben Proudfoot, following 93-year-old cinematographer Chris Hesse — personal cameraman to Ghana's founding President, Kwame Nkrumah — as he races against blindness and time to rescue and repatriate more than 1,000 reels of long-lost footage documenting the birth of African independence. The film's story of reclaiming a suppressed visual history speaks directly to the spirit of the International Day for People of African Descent, honouring the memory, culture, and resilience of people of African descent worldwide. The International Day for People of African Descent reminds us that recognition, justice, and development — the three pillars of the UN's Second International Decade for People of African Descent (2025–2034) — remain vital, unfinished work. THE EYES OF GHANA embodies that work: Chris Hesse's decades-long fight to save the footage of Ghana's independence from erasure, and Anita Afonu's mission to ensure that this history is never lost again. Movies hold the unique power to promote universal ideals, principles, and values so deeply enshrined by the United Nations, including peace, development, respect for human rights, cultural appreciation, the dignity of the human person, and equal rights for all. Founded at the United Nations Headquarters by Brenda Vongova, the UN Movie Society is committed to championing the goals and values of the United Nations through the universal language of motion pictures.
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