Film standards must rise - Pat Thomas
Prominent film producer/director, Mr Pat Thomas, has joined the growing number of Ghanaians who have raised concerns about falling standards in the Ghanaian film industry.
He was worried that recent films produced in this country do not meet generally acceptable standards, a situation which he said had contributed to lack of interest by both investors and patrons of Ghanaian films.
Speaking to Graphic Showbiz, Mr Thomas who said he had stopped supporting the production of Ghanaian films, stated that he was surprised quality had dropped in aspects of film making such as acting, photography, sound recording and costume.
Mr Thomas, who is credited with films such as Heavy Storm and War of Roses, was speaking on the sidelines of the Ghana Films Industry Conference held in Kumasi recently.
The two-day conference brought together stakeholders in the film industry to brainstorm on the way forward for the business.
Outfits represented at the conference included the Ghana Actors Guild (GAG), Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG) and the
Ghana Film Crew Association (GHAFCA).
“I left the music industry for the film sector but now with the deterioration in the film industry, I am being tempted to go back to where I came from,” he said.
According to Mr Thomas, contrary to perceptions that Ghanaians preferred foreign film to local ones, he believed that the ordinary Ghanaian was very patriotic and loved made-in- Ghana goods and services.
He, however, added that the Ghanaian film fan expects film makers to offer them quality films and would not be taken in to buy inferior products.
“How would you feel when you buy a film and realised that the subtitles were entirely different from
what was being shown? Would you buy such a film again? Would you even watch when it is being shown free of charge?” he asked this reporter.
Addressing the gathering earlier, Mr Steve Asare Hackman, the FIPAG president said leaders of various disciplines in the film industry recently held a meeting with the World Bank in Accra.
He said it was evident during the meeting that a film indudtry in a true sense did not exist in this country and that was why the two-day conference was organised to consider the issue.
The conference also discussed how to lobby for the passage of the long awaited Film Broadcasting Bills.
