Chairman of the Ghana National Film Authority (NFA), Ivan Quashigah, has called for the need for guilds and associations within the creative industry to be properly structured, stating that they could play a role in the growth of the creative sector if well-organized.
The veteran filmmaker explained that the disunity and challenges facing some of the industry’s groups limit their ability to contribute meaningfully.
He said the NFA is determined to engage with these guilds and help address their problems.
“We will be very happy if all these guilds and associations are structured properly and can contribute to the vision that we have. So, we will make sure, we will try as much as possible to have some engagement with them and see how we can resolve some of the problems.”
Ivan Quashigah
One of the major examples is the Ghana Actors Guild, which has been embroiled in legal battles since 2018. The confusion began after internal leadership disputes.
Following the death of Reverend Eddie Coffie, who was president until 2016, Samuel Fiscian was elected in April 2017 to serve for one year.
Another election was held on October 27, 2018, to choose substantive leaders for the guild. That election saw Samuel Fiscian retain his position as President, with actor Van Vicker elected Vice-President, Ziggy Netteyson as Secretary, and Kalsoume Sinare as Welfare Officer.
However, not all members accepted the results, actor Abeiku Sagoe, and some colleagues such as Henry Harding (popularly known as Osofagus) and Mercy Asiedu, challenged the outcome in court, arguing that the elections were not transparent and did not follow due process.
The case, which has dragged on for years, has left the guild divided and weakened.
Ivan Quashigah Denies NFA Blocked Local Language Use
The renowned film director Ivan Quashigah responded to comments by Kumawood actor and producer Lil Win over the use of language at the recent National Film Dialogue in Accra.
Lil Win, who was a guest at the event, had complained about the event being held mainly in the English language and that speakers of local languages were not being given the platform.
However, in response, Quashigah stated that every guest, irrespective of the language spoken, was given a platform to air their opinions. “When he spoke in Twi, I did not understand. I’m an Ewe. And I doubt if I spoke Ewe, he also wouldn’t understand,” he stated.
He clarified, however, that “the NFA did not prevent anybody from speaking their local language. Anybody who wanted to speak their local language was allowed to speak.”
He further expressed his frustration that the recent debate over language use is diverting attention from the substantive issues raised at the National Film Authority (NFA) dialogue.
“Some of these comments take us away from the objective. And it becomes the news. If you read through the conversation yesterday, you realise that everybody was talking about, oh, the language and all that.”
Ivan Quashigah
Quashigah urged the industry to refocus on the core mission of the dialogue: finding solutions to the challenges plaguing Ghanaian cinema.
He emphasized that the crucial question is, “How can we move from where we are?”
His call is for stakeholders to shift the conversation from linguistic disagreements back to the pressing matters of production, distribution, funding, and policies that were the intended focus of the NFA forum.
On September 16, 2025, the Ghana Film Authority held its National Film Dialogue at the Cedi Conference Centre, University of Ghana, under the theme “Accelerating Industry Development.”
The event attracted a broad mix of participants, including government officials such as the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts, Yussif Issaka Jajah, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, development partners, and professionals from across the creative arts ecosystem.
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