NAFTI Student Films to be shown on cinema vans

Accra, April 5, GNA - Student films from the National Film

and Television Institute (NAFTI) would be screened on cinema

vans by the Information Services Department (ISD) as part of

government's drive to promote educational programmes. Mr John Tia Akologu, Minister of Information, announced

this at an event dubbed 93An Evening with NAFTI" held on

Friday, March 11, to showcase selected productions by final

year students of NAFTI. A statement issued by NAFTI in Accra on Tuesday said the

productions that were screened included 93Skin Canvass", a

documentary about tattoos, 93Gazinga", a feature on false

prophets and 93Vivor", an animation about greed. Mr Akologu, commenting on the productions, said he

thoroughly enjoyed them and particularly learnt a lot from the

documentary about tattoos. He commended the Institute for its good work in the training

of professionals in the film and television industry, and said such

enlightening productions would be included in cinema vans

whose main purpose would be to advance educational

programmes. Mr Akologu announced that efforts were being made to pass

the film bill which would bring some level of sanity to the

industry, adding 93The bill is currently before Cabinet." Professor Linus Abraham, Rector of the Institute, said

NAFTI was set to chart a quality-assurance course to help

improve professional quality in the film and television industry as

well as ensure quality in the work of its students. "In line with this, not all final year films will be part of the

NAFTI students' festival as was previously the norm. Students

will have to apply to enter their films in the festival and only those

that are vetted and meet set standards of quality will have the

opportunity to compete in the festival," he said. Prof. Abraham said the festival would be held biennially to

ensure enough films for judging while 93An Evening with NAFTI"

would take place in the intervening years. "The day is young yet on this road of quality-assurance we

have set ourselves and we are taking small steps," he added. Mr Kwaw Ansah, CEO of Lifeforms Limited and past student

of NAFTI, acknowledged the importance of NAFTI as the

premiere film training institution in Ghana to the film industry. He commended the institute for the good work it had done in

training students over the years and asked that NAFTI continued

to maintain the highest standards of training as well as promote

the values of African aesthetics in student productions Ms Dorothy Gordon, Director General of Ghana India Kofi

Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, in admiration of the student

productions that were screened asked for them to be shown at

the Centre during Innovation Week, a week-long celebration of

new media. Mr Chris Nii Noi Ashong, Student Representative Council

(SRC) President, expressed belief that the evening's event while

giving stakeholders an insight into the potential of the students

would also provide them opportunity to network with industry

professionals and possibly get them recruited after school.