Ghana’s Electric Dreams
A documentary film by R. Lane Clark and Stephan F. Miescher
Co produced by France Winddance Twine
Released August 2022
Play Video about Ghana's Electric Dreams Akosombo Dam
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Ghana’s Electric Dreams, a unique collaboration between filmmaker R. Lane Clark and historian Stephan F. Miescher, presents the story of the planning and wide-ranging impact of the Akosombo Dam, Ghana’s most ambitious development project. The film takes the viewer to sites affected by this hydroelectric dam and by the broader vision of modernization that it represents.
Ghana’s Electric Dreams is organized into six episodes, exploring issues of energy justice and sustainability.
Each part focuses on a specific promise and challenge of Akosombo. The six 20-minute segments (ideal length for classroom screening and discussion) include:
In A Dam for Africa historian Stephan F. Miescher explores four intersecting narratives that weave together around Akosombo: Ghanaian aspirations about building a hydroelectric dam in the context of decolonization and Cold War; international efforts of the US aluminum industry in benefiting from Akosombo through subsidizing the VALCO aluminum smelter; local stories of upheaval and devastation in resettlement towns; and a nation-wide quest toward electrification and energy justice during times of economic crises, droughts, and climate change. This book and its accompanying documentary film Ghana’s Electric Dreams tell the stories of Akosombo from multiple perspectives by foregrounding a range of historical actors.
