Veteran Ghanaian actor, Adjetey Anang, has pushed back against claims that Ghana’s movie industry is “dead,” insisting that the sector still holds promise despite its decline in output and financial challenges.
During an interview with Asaasepa FM, Anang acknowledged that the industry is no longer producing at the level it once did but argued that its potential remains untapped.
“We have the gift and talent and the content necessary to succeed. We need to show the outside world that we have valuable content. While capital is important, a strong storyline can still carry a film even if we don’t have huge financial backing,” he said.
Reflecting on the industry’s past, Anang recalled a period when Ghana churned out nearly 50 movies each month. Today, he noted, that figure has dropped significantly, largely because of limited funding.
“We are still producing films, but it’s not as robust as it once was. In the past, let’s say we used to churn out around 50 movies in a month, but now we only manage to produce half of that due to lack of capital. Many people find that after covering production costs, the returns from the movies are minimal,” he explained.
According to Anang, financial barriers remain one of the biggest hurdles. Investors hesitate to commit funds due to low returns, and even when films reach theaters, earnings are often reduced once revenue is shared with major cinema chains.
“There are also challenges, such as sharing proceeds with Silverbird Cinema. If we had more venues available for premiering movies, it could benefit our industry, as healthy competition is important,” he said.
To ease this burden, Anang urged the development of additional movie centers across the country, stressing that more screening venues would create opportunities for filmmakers and reduce the stranglehold of existing chains.
Nonetheless, he emphasized that funding alone cannot transform the industry. For him, compelling storytelling and solid research are essential to Ghana’s ability to capture both local and global audiences.
“We need to focus on improving the quality of our work by putting more research into our projects. Once something is released, it can reach a global audience. These are some of the challenges that make it seem like the industry is struggling, but we are still pushing,” Adjetey Anang stated.
Below is a video of his statement.
