British-Ghanaian actress and movie director Ama K. Abebrese has indicated that the best way for the patronage of Ghana-made content would be the introduction of a policy.
Speaking as a Panelist at the Returns Conversation held at the Accra International Conference Centre, she highlighted that the patronage of Ghanaian movies in Ghana are very low adding that the market is very poor as compared to the movie industries of other African countries like Nigeria. “Any body that does film in Ghana will tell you that Ghanaians are one of the first people to bad-talk Ghanaian content.”
The movie industry player listed inadequate infrastructure and the absence of investors as reasons movies in Ghana cannot get to the standard of other movie industries. “How many cinemas do we have in Ghana; Someone would not board a plane from Tamale just to come and watch a movie at Silverbird in Accra; I have gone to so many people who are well to do for funding but they know that they are not going to make their money back.”
In an exclusive interview with happyghana.com reporter, Kobina Baidoo, the filmmaker hinted that the best way to boost the patronage of film in Ghana would be the introduction of a policy that is applicable for every Ghanaian in and outside of Ghana. “When Ghanaians consume what is Ghanaian, it goes a long way to build the Ghanaian movie industry and starts to bring in revenue when we reach that international threshold. A policy that demands that Ghanaian consumers pay for what is Ghanaian would be enough to even groom and boost home-grown talent. Ghanaians in the diaspora should also be part of this policy. As long as they are paying for it, they would have to watch or listen to it because they paid for it”
She added that these policies should also be extended to Ghanaian media houses as an effective way to boost patronage. “If there is a policy that requires every media house in Ghana to play at least 60% of what is Ghanaian, that would create enough awareness of Ghanaian content.”
By: Kobina Baidoo
