Ghana to institute an Africa Film Market

A 20-member International Planning Committee tasked to institute an African Film Market, a channel through which filmmakers would be rewarded for their efforts was inaugurated in Accra on Friday.
The Committee that would be chaired by the Reverend Chris Hese, a Minister of the Gospel who has spent his entire working life in the film and television industry, is to complete its work by 2004.
The first Africa Film Market, which would be an annual film festival, is on the theme: "Rewarding African Creativity" and aimed at creating marketing opportunities for Ghanaians and African film producers to sell their productions.
It is also to create market opportunities for Ghanaian and African films and to promote foreign direct investment into the African film industry.
Africa Film and Music Company (AFRIMUS) organised the programme in collaboration with the National Commission on Culture (NCC).
Mr Moses Foh-Amoaning, a Legal Practitioner, who inaugurated the Committee, said the Ghanaian film producer was unfortunately like a prophet, who was not welcomed in his own home adding that his works were heavily criticised even before they hit the screens and not adequately rewarded for his efforts.
He said in Ghana, there were many film producers doing their best to keep up with the competition adding that through their meagre resources they could produce over a hundred films a year.
"Ironically most of the films produced by the African film maker and which are highlighted by more prestigious film festivals like FESPACO are more likely to be seen on the big screens of Europe and America, than the continent of Africa," he said.
Mr Foh-Amoaning said it was to reward the filmmakers that the African Film Market was being instituted and urged the Committee Members to be committed to their task.
Mr Kofi Amoateng, a Director of the NCC, said the Ghanaian Film Industry was ready to compete in the world market and called on the Members to ensure that local films also win the Grammy Awards by 2004.
He expressed the NCC's commitment and support towards building a sustainable African Film Market.
Mr Torgbor Mensah, Chairman of Argon Group, who quoted Dr Kwame Nkrumah, The first President of Ghana saying: "We have put in place a film industry to feed our TV station with Ghanaian and African films'' during the launch of the Ghana TV Service in 1965 and said that wish had become a reality and charged the Committee to open the way for filmmakers.