Popular streamer IShowSpeed has joined Barack and Michelle Obama’s upcoming documentary, The Eyes of Ghana, as a producer.
The film is set to arrive in theatres on October 28, 2026. The YouTube streamer shared the news during a livestream on October 15, saying his visit to Ghana earlier this year made the country feel like home. After that, he reached out to see how he could help with the film.
The documentary centres on Christian Tsui Hesse, the personal cameraman of Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah. Speed also told his viewers he had already watched the film and called it “a great film.”
The Eyes of Ghana tells the story of Christian Tsui Hesse, better known as Chris Hesse, who worked as personal cameraman to Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president.
Nkrumah became the first democratically elected president of Ghana in 1957 after the country won independence from the United Kingdom. In 1966, his government was removed in a military coup while he was on a state visit to China.
Hesse, now 93 years old, was there to document it all. He even, as the film claims, hid and protected rolls of archival film from Nkrumah’s enemies, who sought to destroy it. The documentary follows Hesse as he uncovers the film after years and screens it publicly in Ghana’s capital, Accra, for the first time.
The film looks back at one period of Ghana’s history through the person standing behind the camera. It centres on Hesse and his work documenting Nkrumah.
The project is produced by Higher Ground Productions, the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama. IShowSpeed is joining the production team, marking a new kind of project for the streamer, who usually shares gaming, travel and other livestream content.
During his October 15 livestream, Speed explained why he wanted to get involved, saying his trip to Ghana earlier this year made him feel at home. He then revealed how the producer role came about.
“I wanted to reach out and see how I could help, and guess what, y’all? They brought me in as a producer, bro,” he told viewers.
Speed also gave his take on the documentary after watching its trailer during the stream. He said he had already seen the full film and liked what he watched.
“It’s a great film, chat. I already watched it; it’s a great film,” he said.
He described the documentary as educational and compared its story, in a loose way, to his own experiences. He also joked about how the film presents him, pointing out the line “Presented by global streaming phenomenon, IShowSpeed” in the trailer.
The film is directed by Ben Proudfoot, an Academy Award-winning short film director. It originally premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and will be released in U.S. theatres on October 28.
Speed told viewers they could get tickets for the theatrical release, giving his online community a chance to see a project that takes him beyond his usual streaming content.
