Veteran actress and filmmaker Madam Selassie Ibrahim has blamed Ghanaian television stations for a significant portion of the decline of the country’s movie industry, accusing broadcasters of prioritising foreign television content over locally produced films.
Speaking on Angel FM, Kumasi, Madam Selassie Ibrahim said television stations have played an estimated 80 per cent role in pulling down Ghana’s movie industry by spending money on foreign programmes instead of investing in Ghanaian productions.
“TV stations are 80 per cent responsible for killing our movie industry,” she stated.
She criticised broadcasters for purchasing old foreign telenovelas and dubbing them into Twi for Ghanaian audiences, arguing that the money spent acquiring such programmes could instead have supported local filmmakers to produce new movies.
“They’ll go and buy telenovelas and dub them in Twi instead of promoting our own,” she said.
According to her, the practice has deprived Ghanaian filmmakers of valuable opportunities to have their productions shown on television, while simultaneously directing advertising and broadcasting revenue towards foreign content.
Madam Selassie Ibrahim cited Joy TV as an example of a broadcaster she believes contributed significantly to the industry’s decline.
“Joy TV has destroyed the movie industry; they have 80 per cent hand in pulling down the movie industry,” she alleged.
She argued that Ghana’s movie industry has continued to struggle partly because local filmmakers have not received sufficient institutional and financial support to produce content capable of competing for television airtime.
“They could have given us those monies so we could shoot the movies,” she stated.
Madam Selassie Ibrahim called for greater commitment from broadcasters to supporting Ghanaian productions, warning that the continued dominance of foreign content could further undermine the local creative industry.
