Ghanaian Actress, Lydia Forson in an interview with BBC has said
Ghana’s movie industry has a long way to go due to funding
constraints from individuals who believe in film and the
government.
She said, “Every industry go through its phase. Where we are
now is not the best but I compare to where we were several
years ago and I still believe it is better because, several years
ago, actors were not making the kind of money we do, actors
were not making endorsement. It was still seen as a hobby.
Could we be doing better much more, I still believe that we have
a long way to go. Although it is struggling, I would not say it
has collapsed”.
“Our biggest challenge has always been funding. A lot of films in
Ghana, although they are seen all over the world, 99.9 percent
are from personal funds and passionate individuals who believe in
the film that we don’t have any real places that we can go and
say listen, this is where we get our money from, not even from
banks”, she said.
The actress added that most corporate entities do not invest in
film and this problem of funding she believes cuts across movie
industries in Africa, of which Ghana is of no exception.
According to her, though the NPP government is currently
pushing the creative arts agenda, the team still go through the
traditional process of seeking for sponsorship because of the
‘attitude of politicians’.
“Over the years, we sort for these funds ourselves. But this year,
with the current government pushing the creative arts agenda, I
was determined to make a statement but a lot of times, there’s
what politicians say and there’s what they do. So we decided to
go through the right process where we send letters and all of
that”, she stated.
Aside lack of funds for the industry, Lydia Forson also revealed
lack of respect for the industry as one of the major challenge of
the movie industry.
“There’s a huge challenge when it comes to funding and at this
core, I think the biggest problem is lack of respect for the
industry” she said.