Ghanaian-American filmmaker Leila Djansi has launched a strong critique of the institutions that oversee Ghana’s film industry, arguing that they have become more of a burden than a benefit.
Speaking on Hitz FM, Djansi declared that if she were tasked with reforming the industry, her first move would be to abolish all existing guilds. She insisted that these organizations no longer serve a meaningful purpose.
“If you allow me to fix the Ghana film industry, the first thing I will do is to dismantle every single guild. I will collapse all of them because they are obsolete and just there as gatekeepers. They are not really doing anything,” she said.
The filmmaker further pointed to Opera Square, once considered the center of Ghana’s film distribution, as a major contributor to the industry’s decline. She argued that its leaders clung to outdated practices and failed to modernize when the global film market shifted to digital platforms.
“Opera Square is the reason Ghana is in the distribution hell hole right now because when things were moving digital, they were still there 500 cedis every Monday to control how films were released. Nobody regulated them; somebody should have regulated them,” she explained.
Leila Djansi added that the same individuals who resisted the digital transition now hold positions of influence in guilds, extending the problems that weakened the industry in the first place.
“When the digital switch happened, they didn’t understand modern trends… They didn’t move when things moved… Those same people have now infiltrated guilds and are still benefiting from the chaos,” she stated.
Watch what she said in the video below.
