Movie industry in Ghana has a long way to go – Lydia Forson

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.