There is no Movie Industry Here, says Ghanaian producer Samuel Darko, popularly called Sam Dakus, in an incendiary interview this week.
He lamented that there was no single film industry in Ghana and the situation was akin to a patchwork quilt of competing organizations.
He says that there is no one, national industry rather there are just some scattered associations such as directors, actors, and screenwriters guild, which work in isolation.
According to him, it is not an industry, but personal brands, and he was talking about Kumawood not as an industry, but as a company that was established by a single person.
Dakus traces the problem back decades—long before the brand “Kumawood”—when Ghana’s cinema houses and band halls closed due to political and economic upheavals.
The stakeholders parted ways breaking up the formerly flourishing ecosystem .
He cautions that unless the filmmakers are supported by the law, regulated collectively, and have a common vision, they will remain in silos and will never compete with others regionally or internationally.
It is not criticism but it is a call to action.
Sam Dakus calls to action: Ghana needs to construct a central organization with norms, infrastructure and unity in order to restore their film identity.
Less than that and fragmentation will be the order of the day.
