Nkrumah’s Baby introduces the documentary series by taking the viewer back to Ghana’s struggle for independence from British colonial rule in the 1950s. For Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s charismatic leader at the time, and for the founders of the newly independent nation, the Volta River Project producing hydro electric power was central to bringing development and prosperity to the people. In this episode we meet the filmmakers as they explore the original dreams of the project planners and of ordinary citizens, while also discovering the contradictions in the experiences of people who have lived with the challenges the Akosombo Dam has presented over more than fifty years since its construction. The film weaves archival footage from the time of the dam’s construction with contemporary recollections of ordinary Ghanaians to paint a picture of Ghana’s original “electric dream.” Nkrumah’s Baby introduces some of the main characters whose stories and aspirations are further explored in subsequent episodes of Ghana’s Electric Dreams.
Ghana’s Electric Dreams
Introduction: Tells the story of the dam’s construction
Nkrumah’s Baby introduces the documentary series by taking the viewer back to Ghana’s struggle for independence from British colonial rule in the 1950s. For Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s charismatic leader at the time, and for the founders of the newly independent nation, the Volta River Project producing hydro electric power was central to bringing development and prosperity to the people. In this episode we meet the filmmakers as they explore the original dreams of the project planners and of ordinary citizens, while also discovering the contradictions in the experiences of people who have lived with the challenges the Akosombo Dam has presented over more than fifty years since its construction. The film weaves archival footage from the time of the dam’s construction with contemporary recollections of ordinary Ghanaians to paint a picture of Ghana’s original “electric dream.” Nkrumah’s Baby introduces some of the main characters whose stories and aspirations are further explored in subsequent episodes of Ghana’s Electric Dreams.
Nkrumah’s Baby introduces the documentary series by taking the viewer back to Ghana’s struggle for independence from British colonial rule in the 1950s. For Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s charismatic leader at the time, and for the founders of the newly independent nation, the Volta River Project producing hydro electric power was central to bringing development and prosperity to the people. In this episode we meet the filmmakers as they explore the original dreams of the project planners and of ordinary citizens, while also discovering the contradictions in the experiences of people who have lived with the challenges the Akosombo Dam has presented over more than fifty years since its construction. The film weaves archival footage from the time of the dam’s construction with contemporary recollections of ordinary Ghanaians to paint a picture of Ghana’s original “electric dream.” Nkrumah’s Baby introduces some of the main characters whose stories and aspirations are further explored in subsequent episodes of Ghana’s Electric Dreams.