Ghanaian film critic, Tony Asankomah, has broached the topic of film distribution in Ghana and its concomitant effects.
He attributed the lower visibility of Ghanaian films on Netflix to the distribution gap.
“A lot goes into it, talking about the quality and the standards, the requirements that they need to enable you to get your film onto Netflix. But I have maintained and I am saying this that, our biggest problem as a space is because we do not have Ghanaian distributors who understand the terrain for the distribution of films now,” Tony Asankomah stated.
“So all the Ghanaian films that you see on Netflix, didn’t get there by chance. They went through a distributor who could be a Nigerian or South African company who understands the model and these distribution companies always have a quota of films they have to submit. So of course, I am from this country, I would prioritize content coming from my country over content coming from Ghana,” he said.
He emphasized that he had seen some very good Ghanaian films that could not make it through to Netflix because of the distributor they dealt with.
He also touched on the business of demand meeting supply, as one of the reasons there are not many Ghanaian movies on Netflix.
“We have come to understand how Nigerians pay for subscriptions. So if Netflix is paying for their data they know where the money is coming from. They know those who are paying more for subscriptions. They will entertain them. They look at the analytics and know the type of films they watch, these are the kind of content they are interested in,” he said.
Netflix is an American subscription video-on-demand over-the-top streaming service that primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple languages.
Some Ghanaian films on Netflix are ‘The Burial of Kojo’, ‘Keteke’, ‘Azali’, ‘Gold Coast Lounge’, ‘Side Chic Gang’, ‘Aloe Vera’, and ‘Ties That Bind’, among others.
King Ampaw Encourages Use Of Local Languages In Ghanaian Films
Veteran movie producer King Ampaw advised Ghanaian filmmakers to use Ghanaian languages in their movies.
King mentioned that one way of shaping Ghanaian society with the film is by being original with content.
“I encourage film productions to be done in our local areas and our local languages. These attract a majority of our people in our society and also have more effect on them,” he said.
He also noted that to be able to market Ghana to the world like Hollywood has done to America, Ghanaian filmmakers need to depict the real lifestyle of the people to the world.
The legendary movie producer said that although society has become global and there is a desire for socialization, there should be a deliberate attempt to project the Ghanaian culture.
“Although I am not happy about the quality of most of these productions, I know that Rome was not built in a day. Modern production is now finding its way into the African industry and the industry is now being built. We must work hard towards it,” he said.
In their bid to maximize their potential in the industry, King Ampaw also advised filmmakers in Ghana not to bank their hopes on the government’s financial aid for their movie productions.
According to King who is popularly known for the 1983 movie ‘Kukurantumi: Road to Accra’, funds provided by governments for film productions usually don’t suffice for the real work.
“Actually, to put the facts down, commercial productions have got very little, not much to do with government. It is purely private business because of the money involved,” he asserted.
King said the government can only give those funds which will protect filmmakers but for a full production, they need more than the government fund can support.
“Unfortunately, the young people here have been emphasizing it most time. I think that has made us a little bit lazy. After all, how much money can the government give to so many filmmakers? Now, listen to this, the whole government film fund, I may use for only one movie production. We might have to change our attitude and minds on that,” King Ampaw noted.
King Ampaw is famed for movies such as ‘They Call It Love’, ‘Kukurantumi’, ‘Road to Accra’, ‘Juju (Nana Akoto)’, and ‘No Time To Die’, among others.
