Judith Oluwole Kuwornu, the Country Director for the Africa Movie Academy Awards in Ghana, has responded to the video by actress, Gloria Sarfo, lashing out at the organizers of the awards, following the challenges some Ghanaian filmmakers faced with their flight tickets while leaving for the event in Nigeria.
According to Judith, although she admits that what happened was unfortunate, she sent a message of apology to Gloria Sarfo.
“I have sent her a message of apology but she kept on doing this but that’s her problem. I mean we are different people from different backgrounds, where we come from, and how we are trained. I’m sorry this happened. I’m also sorry that it’s going this way.
“Because [this is] somebody that is close to me and could not have communicated with me. ‘Judith, what happened?’ and all that. She never did that. All I saw was that she was going all over the place.”
Judith Oluwole Kuwornu
She stated how okay she was, adding that bad news is also sometimes good news. “Maybe you are trying to reignite the face of AMAA for us in our way. We take it like that,” she said.
Judith also mentioned that despite the incident, some members of the team who were stranded at the airport reached out to her.
“There were so many veterans that were there who called and said ‘Judith we understand this thing so don’t worry. If we get to come, we will come, if we don’t, don’t worry because you have been doing this with us for the past 20 years, we have never experienced this’.”
Judith Oluwole Kuwornu
She further indicated that some challenges cannot be controlled as an organization “because you don’t have the personal airline or jet that you can put your people on and bring them down.”
Asked what the issue was and who was responsible for the faux pas, she said the organizers would later issue a communique to that effect.
Gloria Sarfo Expresses Dissatisfaction With Colleagues
Ghanaian actress, Gloria Sarfo expressed deep dissatisfaction with her colleagues, actresses Joselyn Dumas and Jackie Appiah for their decision to attend the recent Africa Movie Academy Awards held in Nigeria.
The actress took to social media to voice her dismay over a recent incident at the airport that left her, alongside other Ghanaian actors, including veterans, embarrassed and stranded.
In a viral social media video, Gloria indicated that the two could have chosen to boycott the event, as the organizers had left them stranded at the airport and failed to communicate when they reached out for an update.
“In the evening, we heard that some of my colleagues paid for their tickets to attend the event. I thought that we all should have shown them how they humiliated our brands and Ghana as a whole.
“Joselyn Dumas, who was the host of the show, was among those who were stranded at the airport. Do you think if it were Nigerians treated that way, would they have kept quiet?”
Gloria Sarfo
Gloria further added that Nigerians would “walk over” Ghanaians and industry players if they refrained from expressing dissatisfaction over such ill-treatment. “If Ghanaians don’t come together and talk about these things, the Nigerians would walk on us all the time. We need to express ourselves,” she added.
The 2024 edition of the AMAA ceremony took place in Lagos, Nigeria, where several Ghanaian actors, such as Abdul Salam Mumuni, Akorfa Edjeani Asiedu, Julia Apia, and Jackie Appiah, who received nominations in leading categories, were invited.
Joselyn Dumas, meanwhile, served as a host at the event.
