Efforts underway to reduce pornography

Accra, Feb. 1, GNA - Constant education for players in the film industry has been identified as effective corrective measure to clamp down on pornography and sub-standard content that has besieged Ghanaian movie production.

Professor Linus Abraham, Rector of the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) who disclosed this to the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Tuesday, said constant education was more effective in changing social practice than punitive measures.

He stressed that people were likely to willingly comply with reforms when encouraged to understand the importance of acting in an acceptable manner.

Prof Abraham said NAFTI was leading the crusade to clamp down on pornographic and poor quality materials that flooded the movie industry. He said apart from the Institute's curricular that had been fashione= d out to train students to produce quality movie production to promote national integration and respect for the Ghanaian cultural orientation, the Institute was embarking on a comprehensive national campaign to improve the quality of film production and movie content.

Prof Abraham conceded that though it would take time for the change to be experienced, he expressed the conviction that training and education would augment the efforts. "It is these students we will train that would eventually become fil= m producers, cinematographers and playwrights," he said. Prof Abraham observed that though the film industry was growing with the proliferation of media establishments, a lot needed to be done to improve the content and quality of movie production. He lauded the high quality movie production of Ms Shirley Frimpong, a Ghanaian Movie award-winning playwright and described her productions as on= e of the 93bright sparks" of hope for lofty quality standards that, accord= ing to him, was emerging in the Ghanaian film industry.

Prof Abraham cited 93the little beginning" of Hollywood movie produ= ction as an example, and expressed optimism that Ghana would gradually match up t= o international quality standard.