With just a week to the much-talked about Ghana Movie Awards (GMAs), News-One has gathered that all is not well with the event as tempers are flaring and abusive words flying all over.
Several of the nominated movie makers are grumbling and threatening to boycott the ceremony while two of the nominated producers, Socrates Sarfo of ‘Hot Fork’ fame and Leila Djansi, producer of ‘Sinking Sands’ are at each other’s throat.
While Leila is threatening to withdraw her ‘Sinking Sands’ movie from the nomination list because of Socrates Sarfo’s ‘Adult Only’, Socrates Has called her bluff, saying she did not qualify to be in the competition in the first place and showed clearly that he wanted her movie axed.
Socrates threatened to walk out of a seminar of actors and movie producers held last Wednesday if Leila was allowed to sit in the meeting. ‘Sinking Sands’ had twelve nominations, while ‘Adults Only’ had two but producers of the two movies are yet to reconcile their differences. “Yes I am pulling out of the awards and I have not hidden that. If the concept is to grow our industry and reward hard work, then ‘Adults Only’ is not a movie that should get nominated for the category of Best Director. It makes the whole thing look like a big joke or something being done to please someone. Let’s get serious for once just as Shirley Frimpong-Manso got serious in directing ‘A Sting In A Tale’, Leila told News-One.
She continued: “The fact that ‘Sinking Sands’ and a movie like ‘A Sting In A Tale are nominated besides his little ‘Adults Only’ is insulting. All these things that he is doing; organizing people to gang up and ban someone, I am sure I am going to be the next to be banned whatever. I don’t care about Sarfo and his plots and schemes.” Socrates Sarfo has however maintained his stance that Leila did not qualify because though her movie was premiered in Ghana, it had not been released onto the Ghanaian market.
The ‘Hot Fork’ man said he shared this position with the Film Producers of Ghana (FIPAG), though he was the only person articulating it publicly. “Premiering a movie does not necessarily mean releasing of a film. We all know what releasing a film is about and not somebody coming to twist the meaning to suit his or her agenda,” Socrates told News-One.
When asked if he was not feeling intimidated because ‘Sinking Sands’ was a high budget movie, as compared to his ‘Adults Only’, Socrates flared up: “Whoever will say that me Socrates Sarfo ever said that Leila’s movie is a high budget movie and is better than the films that we have; whoever is saying that, I will say is sick in the head and must check him or herself well.
“Maybe he or she goes to bed and hears voices and wakes up and says things because I, Socrates Sarfo have not said that anywhere. So if the person is saying that, maybe the person is sick and must check his or her head because I have not said that anywhere,” Socrates charged.
Executive Producer of the GMAs, Fred Nuamah, has however cleared the air that Leila’s ‘Sinking Sands’ qualified to be in the nomination list and that he had already explained that position to FIPAG. “I myself called Leila and Shirley Frimpong-Manso to present her ‘Sinking Sands’ and ‘6 Hours To Christmas’. But Shirley could not meet the time. I don’t want to comment about this issue any longer because I have already done that with the producers and they are aware. I had a meeting with them and the Actors Guild and I don’t want to put in the media what we discussed at that meeting,” Fred Nuamah noted.
