Ghana’s movie industry has gone from bad to worse – Shirley Frimpong Manso
Ghana movie industry’s woman of many hats, Shirley Frimpong Manso, says the declining state of the Ghana Movie Industry is because of the lack of support for the industry.
The Ghanaian film director, writer and producer is of the view that the industry in Ghana is fast biting dust.
The Sparrow Productions Chief Executive Officer averred that after 10 years of hitting the industry with some ground-breaking movies, the industry has declined in prospect.
In her view, it has gone from bad to worse for filmmakers all due to the refusal of investors to put money in the art.
She made the assertion when she appeared on Citi TV.
“It has gone from bad to worse”, she said in the interview monitored by ABC News.
Shirley Frimpong Manso noted that it is heartbreaking how the once vibrant industry has taken a nose-dive over the past years.
According to the movie producer, lack of proper policy to regulate the industry and lack of support are the main drivers collapsing the Ghana movie industry.
With foreign content flooding the Ghanaian market, she could not resist blaming the state of the industry on foreign movies.
These movies, she says are usurping the place of Ghanaian movies.
She observes that the industry lacks the needed policies that will protect the local movie industry from the foreign content that has taken over the Ghanaian entertainment arena.
She adds that lack of support, especially in financial and infrastructural terms are also some contributory factors to the sorry state of the Ghanaian Movie Industry.
To her, the various stakeholders in the movie industry have failed in this regard to provide the needed support to the industry hence its current state.
“Sometimes [I am] very emotional because, after all of that, I would have expected that the Ghana Movie Industry would have gone much further than where we are today.
“It almost feels like we have gone back. We have retrogressed when we should have progressed”, the celebrated movie director said.
“It’s policy, it’s an industry that has no support from everywhere. Movie making is very expensive. A lot of Ghanaian producers will tell you they use their monies to do the movies. So how much could you lose if there is no support system?
With dozens of the country’s cinema closed down, she says the industry must be protected against the foreign content invasion if it is to stand a chance of revival.