Personal photographer of Ghana’s first President to be honoured

The National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) on Tuesday said it would honour the Revered Dr Chris Hesse, Ghana’s foremost cinematographer and personal photographer of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first President.

The event, slated for May 13 to 17, forms part of the annual lecture series of the Institute and would be used to explore his works as a cinematographer, film director, and documentary photographer.

The event would also reflect on the thematic and narrative content of Dr Hesse’s work, especially as a documentary historian.

The annual NAFTI lecture, which is under the theme “The Cinematographer as a Complete Filmmaker; His Role as the Great Visualizer and Documentarian”, would also be used to explore the structure, visual style and technical components of his work as a cinematographer.

Professor Linus Abraham, Rector, NAFTI, said this at a press conference to launch the lectures, which would include workshops, film screening and recognition award for Dr Hesse.

“It is also intended to facilitate research on the film industry and to provide a platform for students, academics, professionals and the public at large to share and exchange their views on the industry,” Prof Abraham stated.

Prof Kofi Anyidoho, Board Chairman, NAFTI, extolled Dr Hesse for the quality of the films produced by him in the 1950s.

He said the NAFTI board chose Rev Dr Hesse due to his par excellent films and his dedication to work as well as his bravery.

“It would amaze you to know that, Dr Hesse was with Dr Nkrumah when they intended to kill him (Dr Nkrumah) at Kumbungu through a bomb blast.”

“To tell you the truth, the bomb which was intended to kill Nkrumah was not put in a bouquet of flowers as we were made to believe but was thrown from behind him and Dr Hesse was able to capture all these on his camera.

“He was so much engulfed in capturing those memorable scenes that someone had to whisk him away for his own safety”, he added.

Mr Emmanuel Arthur, Corporate Affairs Manager, rLG Communications, said his outfit decided to sponsor the lectures because it was a worthy cause, stressing that rLG was committed to supporting the music, arts and films industry.

The profile of Rev Dr Hesse indicates that, apart from being the personal photographer of Dr Nkrumah, he had served other subsequent presidents and had his works as a cinematographer and documentary filmmaker recognised by the international community.

He worked for the United Nations, serving as a war photographer, documenting the conflicts in DR Congo.

He is regarded as Ghana’s most celebrated cinematographer; having worked on productions of some of Ghana’s finest such as Kwaw Ansah and King Ampaw.

He also directed his own films, which have received international acclamation and was a onetime director of the Ghana Films Industry Corporation.

Source: GNA