Kumawood needs cinemas for its own premieres – Bill Asamoah

Actor and President of the Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Actors Guild, Bill Asamoah, has responded to the Silverbird Cinema’s rejection of movies done in the Twi language, popularly known as ‘Kumawood Movies.’

In a report last week, the marketing manager of the Silverbird Cinema Cynthia Ellorm Dumfuor had explained during the Women in Filmmaking forum at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra that the cinema do not show or premiere Kumawood movies because they are of low standard.

Bill Asamoah in an interview with Kwame Dadzie on Arts and People on Vision 90.9 FM in Koforidua indicated that Kumawood movies have now improved tremendously and thought that the reason for their rejection at the Silverbird cinemas would be the fact that the Kumawood movies still use VCD’s which contain limited length of movies.

“I think the reason why they don’t show our movies is that most of us still use the VCD’s. The VCD’s cannot contain long movies. This is why most of our movies are in many parts. But now that some of us are migrating onto the DVD, I am sure, it will be easy for them to show our movies,” he explained.

Bill Asamoah, when asked if he thought movie premieres would benefit the Kumawood industry, answered in the affirmative.

“Of course, they will help us because premieres give the actors the opportunity to have interaction with their fans. Also sometimes, it gives the actors that platform to know their movies. Sometimes, you finish shooting a movie and you may not see it again because the working title may change when the final product is out. So going to the premiere makes you know your movie,” he said.

He also added that: “Movie premieres help to create some awareness about the movie and whip up the interest in people to go buy them.”

Asked what Kumawood industry can do to toe the movie premiere lines he answered that all they need now are venues for the premieres.

“All the big cinema houses are in Accra. The few cinema houses I had known in Kumasi when I was young have all been turned into churches. I am just hoping that we can have such places here to also premiere our movies,” he noted.

However, most people are wondering if truly fans of Kumawood movies would make time and use their monies to go watch movie premieres, considering the fact that a preponderance of those fans are the low and middle class whose orientation about things like movie premiers are low.