Ghana is putting together a policy framework for cinema to grow the local cinema industry and attract global players, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said.

He said the policy was being designed to have the kind of impact that the automobile policy had made in attracting international vehicle manufacturers such as Nissan, VW, Toyota and SINO Trucks into the country.

The President announced this when a film industry global icon, Idris Elba, paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House.

Industry benefits

President Akufo-Addo expressed the hope that the policy would make the cinema industry very beneficial through value addition, describing the call for a policy framework as “spot on”.

He indicated that the latest example of how the policy yielded dividend was the automobile industry, adding: “Until I came, there had been no policy; we brought out one and, subsequently, over half a dozen major global automobile manufacturing companies are in the country.”

Policy

Mr Elba is expected to shoot portions of a movie he is working on in Ghana from August this year, and suggested to the President that a film policy for the country would attract and benefit international filmmaking.

He said he was willing to allow his film to be used to test and firm up the policy.

He said despite Africa’s potential in and contribution to filmmaking, facilities were lacking, with the exception of what pertained in South Africa, where a big facility with a huge film production set-up existed.

Mr Elba said models in South Africa, Greece, Morocco and some parts of Europe that offered incentive packages had led to the realisation of the value of the filmmaking industry.

He said he was aware that Ghana was doing some work on a very comprehensive plan to propel Ghana to the forefront.