Ghanaian president launches initiative to boost movie industry

 

Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched an initiative here Wednesday to boost the country’s film industry.

The 25-million-U.S.-dollar Presidential Film Pitch Series seeks to make the Ghanaian film industry a critical contributor to national development.

“The consistent and favorable rankings of Ghana by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitive Report as politically stable, with a safe and secure environment, unique and better tourist assets and infrastructure, should make the country a preferable film and tourism hub to be leveraged by filmmakers,” said the president.

The president said historical, cultural, natural sites, and activities such as castles, national parks, historic palaces, wildlife, and festivals all over the country “could be filmed and marketed for tourism purposes.”

Akufo-Addo expressed the hope that the 25-million-dollar investment would go a long way to strengthen the local film ecosystem, with some 6,000 jobs set to be created consequently.

“Ghanaian film producers now have the opportunity to access markets for their films, and I want to take this opportunity to encourage local film producers to show more creativity and innovation in their productions to make their products popular within the country and also satisfying to international audiences,” the president added.