Government must deliberately invest in the film industry, says Juliet Asante
According to Asante, by not paying attention to the film industry and stepping away from it, the country is losing out
Juliet Asante, Chief Executive Officer of the National Film Authority (NFA), has stated that collaboration between the government and film-makers is required to make the industry great.
According to Asante, by not paying attention to the film industry and stepping away from it, the country is losing out.
Speaking on the Asaase Breaskfast Show on Wednesday (7 November) Asante said, “It has to be a combination; there has to be a deliberate effort and that cannot be the responsibility of the film maker alone; it has to be part of our foreign policy because it is cultural diplomacy.”
“Nigeria’s former president, Goodluck Jonathan, deliberately invested in their film industry,” she added.
Asante emphasised that it is unfortunate that no one considered Ghana during the discussions at the Africa Cinema Summit; “people kept mentioning other countries”.
“It is sad that we are at a stage where, when we are talking about film, Ghana is not on the list because we had the first sound stage, the world-class sound stage in Ghana.”
“I always wonder when we lost it when you talk about film and its growth on the continent. Ghana is not recognised and appreciated when we have one of the oldest training schools on the continent.”
The responsibility of the film-maker
She however, added that the responsibility of the film-makers cannot be ignored.
“I keep telling my fellow film-makers, this is business.”
“Before you go into any business, try and study the market; try and have a route to market idea, try and find the right people to work with.”
“Perpheps, draw up a business plan; you can’t also throw your hands up in the air and say I have no responsibility here.
“You need to train yourself as a film-maker, if you do quality production with bad sound, you don’t expect anyone to invest in you.”
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