Nkonkonsa Celebrity Gossip From Africa
Ghana’s peaceful environment, rich heritage and attractive tourist attraction sites give the country an advantage to develop the film industry to an appreciable standard, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.
“Our country has an abundance of forts and castles, national parks, historic palaces, wildlife and festivals that could be used as backgrounds for films and marketed for tourist purposes,” he noted.
Addressing the opening session of the maiden Africa Cinema Summit, in Accra, the President elaborated the Government’s commitment to work with stakeholders in making the most of what the country had to utilise its potential.
In furtherance of this objective, a favourable fiscal and tax regime for cinema projects was in the process of being elaborated, which will be outdoors very soon, he disclosed.
This is intended to build good infrastructure – making the country the ideal place and location to shoot films and content in Africa.
The three-day Summit is being hosted by Ghana under the auspices of the National Film Authority, FilmHouse Group and Silverbird Cinema.
Aligned with the broader vision of the Ghana Cinema Agenda, the Summit aims to address critical issues such as infrastructural gaps and the cultivation of a robust cinema-going culture.
The objective is to drive the transformation and revitalisation of the African film industry.
The Summit is also serving as a platform for film stakeholders from across Africa to engage in meaningful discussions about the challenges hindering the sector’s growth, with a steadfast focus on finding sustainable solutions.
In attendance are film authorities, filmmakers, cinema investors, architects and builders, heritage center authorities, distributors and exhibitors.
“Every aspect of African life tells an imaginative story.” President Nana Akufo-Addo stated.
He stressed that the distinctiveness of the arts, culture and heritage of the African people was important as it connected the people to their past, reinforcing awareness of the present while charting a path of evolution for the future.
“It is a compass from which we can trace and examine our history, which creates a critical role in our modern society, politics, businesses and our daily realities,” he noted.
The President said Africa’s film industry had the potential to employ some 20 million people and contribute about US$20 billion to the economy of the continent.
“Africa will have about 70 per cent of the global youth population by 2050, indicating that both the cinema world and the continent need each other,” he said.
NKONKONSA.com
