Pastor Abbeam Ampomah Danso, a popular Ghanaian entrepreneur and business magnate who doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of Abbeam Productions – a multifaceted media and production company based in the UK, has stated with assent that, Nigeria’s movie industry, known as Nollywood, has drowned the image of Ghana’s movie industry.
In an exclusive interview with him ahead of his award-winning movie titled ‘Last Word’ to be premiered on April 9, 2015, he stated that, African films are really doing well outside Africa, but the problem is that Nollywood has taken the shine, as in the global presence, from Ghana and Ghanaians in the Diaspora.
“A lot of Britons are watching African movies but most people outside Ghana see Ghanaian films as Nollywood movies,” he said.
When asked if that perception can ever be cleared, he stated that it can be cleared if we unite to do proper re-branding – and also, if Ghanaian actors could be proud to carry the brand of Ghanaian film industry.
To pastor Abeam, though it took Nigerians so many years to build the Nollywood brand and considering their population, it can take Ghana a shorter time, but Ghanaians are being too idle to project and build the name of the film industry which is making Nollywood get all the benefits.
He further explained that, recently, the UK film industry has been collaborating more with Bollywood because they think they can benefit more in Bollywood – so with good work and proper branding, our industry can get to its peak.
Speaking about good branding, he opined that, Ghanaians have powerful stories, which can be strongly capitalized on – instead of telling the foreign stories.
Apart from directing and producing his own movies, he has an institution of higher education called Abbeam Institute of Technology with lots of facilities in the school just to help the film industry, media, nurses, etc. through formal education.
“Anyone who applies to the school and graduates successfully, stands a chance to travel to England to further their education and also, do practicals outside Ghana,” he said.
