Veteran Ghanaian filmmaker and former Director for Creative Arts at the National Commission on Culture, Socrate Safo, has painted a grim picture of the country’s movie industry, describing it as a sector crippled by ignorance and a stubborn rift between generations of filmmakers.
Speaking on Hitz FM, Safo likened the craft of filmmaking to driving — a discipline that requires not just equipment, but mastery of the rules and techniques. He lamented that many young entrants approach the industry with little or no technical knowledge, convinced that owning a camera and rallying a few friends is enough to make a movie.
Recalling his own early years, Safo said he joined the industry during the rise of video technology, only to face rejection from the older generation who worked with traditional celluloid film. At the time, his use of video cameras was dismissed as amateurish, and he was shut out of cinema screenings by established players seeking to protect their dominance.
That generational clash, he admitted, soon escalated. Newcomers like himself rebelled against the older guard, while the veterans withheld mentorship and imposed barriers. Instead of cooperation, both sides engaged in open hostility.
According to Safo, the same destructive pattern is unfolding today. Younger filmmakers now show the same defiance towards their predecessors, creating a cycle of mistrust and disunity that continues to harm the industry.
He warned that without breaking this chain of animosity, the decline of Ghana’s film sector will only worsen — bluntly concluding that “now we are all being foolish.”
Source: NewsandVibes.com
