Ghanaian Film Industry: Past and Present
A Filmmaker’s Perspective: Kwaw Ansah
Interview by Mofihli Teleki (FEPACI)
Kwaw Ansah is one of Ghana’s film industry luminaries, owner of the private television station TV Africa (Ghana), and producer of the award-winning films Love Brewed in an African Pot (1980) and Heritage Africa (1988). Ansah has worked and lived long enough to tell the story about the past and current dynamics of Ghana’s film and television industry. Mofihli Teleki (FEPACI) spoke to Ansah about Ghana’s film industry history and prospects for the future.
Kwaw Ansah started his film production career in the late 1960s, a few years after Ghana’s independence and the period that also saw the demise of former president Kwame Nkrumah’s regime.
Nkrumah’s vision was to see a free Africa that projects a true image of its people through the audiovisual media. It was partly for this reason that Ghana established its national television station in 1965. This was the beginning of a film and television industry that was to flourish.
Ansah remembers this period vividly:
“For a long time, Ghana was in the forefront of filmmaking in the continent. We were even servicing other neighboring countries such as Nigeria. Nigerian filmmakers like Ola Balogun used to go to Ghana to do their post-production. Kwame Nkrumah was one of the few leaders in the continent who saw film as a potential tool for national development. He built studios that were well equipped and he also trained Ghanaians to be the best in the area of film and television.”
The period between 1970 and 1980 was marred by coups and political instability, and this is when the industry in Ghana suffered a heavy blow.
“Unfortunately, coups took place in Ghana, and the film and television industry suffered a heavy setback. It became extremely difficult for some of us who used to shoot on celluloid. We were forced to use post-production facilities overseas—a taxing process in the sense that a film could take anything from six to nine months to edit. It was more expensive if you had sent people to assist in the editing phase. Due to the setbacks we suffered, there is no longer a good film industry in Ghana and the film industry took a downward trend.”
The high costs of shooting on celluloid led to the rise and demand for a video feature film industry in Ghana during the 1980s. It was also at this time that the state-owned Ghana Film Industry Corporation (GFIC) began to experience financial problems as it could no longer afford to finance film projects.
“The era of celluloid led to the rise of video production in the film industry, much like Nigeria’s Nollywood.”
The video production industry in Ghana employed formally and informally trained video producers and directors, as well as others who came from related art forms such as theatre and music. The advent of video production in Ghana managed to bear fruit for the years that followed. The 1990s saw a more structured industry with production networks and reliable models of distribution.
In 1996, the Ghanaian government took a decision to sell 70% of GFIC to the Malaysian television production company Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad of Kuala Lumpur.
“The acquisition of GFIC was another heavy blow for our industry. Ghana was always praised for having the best national broadcasting archive on the continent. This archive even had footage on Africa’s liberation struggles throughout the continent. All of this has gone to waste. The country as well as the continent has lost that heritage.”
When asked about government support and other developmental agencies that play a role in promoting film and the filmmaking business, Ansah replied:
“It is painful to notice that the government of Ghana has not formalized any policy on film as yet. We know that there has been a draft policy that is supposed to be ratified by government and we have not had any progress regarding this. If the government realized what audiovisual media can do for the psyche of a nation, they would definitely support film. If government can understand that film is a tool that can help in transmitting values, they would probably support it. The West and East African countries have shown the dehumanization of Black people on film, and this has worked.”
Outside of government’s minimal efforts in legislating policy on film, Ansah believes there are other means of developing film in Ghana.
“Ghana has a film guild, which helps develop talent in the film industry. There are internal and external factors that can be used in developing film in Ghana. It is also our responsibility as filmmakers to encourage growth in our industry. For example, there is a television series that I am developing at the moment, and with this television series I would like to work with young people from different countries on the continent. The future of the film industry in Ghana could be bright, only if the government could realize the importance of film. The issue of equality is one that is also important—the control of power in our industry still lies in the hands of the colonial masters.”
Ansah concluded by emphasizing the importance of continental support structures for African cinema:
“FEPACI should also play a role in these matters, but this can only happen if it is strengthened and supported in order for it to focus on promoting film on the continent.”
Originally published by FEPACI (Pan African Federation of Filmmakers).
