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Information reaching Seancity.Com indicates that the Film Producers Association of Ghana, after their general meeting held on the 14th April, 2016, at the Teachers Hall in Accra, have unanimously decided to stop submitting their films to the cinematographic and classification board for preview .
According to the leadership of FIPAG, it has directed its members to boycott any dealings with the aforementioned board.
With immediate effect they are asking all their members and all filmmakers to desist from submitting their movies to the board for preview, they believe the board is not doing what is expected of them.
Speaking to the Public Relations and Welfare Officer of FIPAG, Mr. Michael Kwaku Ola, he confirmed the report and outlined four major points behind their latest decision.
We have decided to boycott the submission of our movies to the board because;
1. The board as we speak, is woefully inactive. They don't even know which ministry they belong to now. They used to be under the ministry of information and since the ministry was merged with the communication ministry, the board itself doesn’t know what to do. They don't deserve taking monies from us anymore until they begin to function properly as required of them.
2. We don’t see the usefulness of the board anymore and we are not ready to continue submitting our movies and be paying monies to the board when the very job we are doing is being heavily crippled by piracy and incessant importation of cheap foreign movies unto the Ghanaian market.
The board is set up by Government based on the cinematography Act of 1961, and is still operational in the absence of the FILM BILL. It is the responsibility of the board, conveniently and formerly placed under the ministry of information, to first see to the education of the general public on the meaning of the various classification or age rates of movies sold or exhibited in the country. A responsibility that have failed woefully.
3. The board is also supposed to make sure any audiovisual work on the Ghanaian market comes through them before sent to the market. By this, they are required and equipped by law to embark on exercises to seize any work that has not being duly previewed and classified by them. Another duty they have woefully failed or turned blind eyes to.
We have also observed that obviously so many foreign works get straight to exhibition without necessarily coming through them and they sit unconcerned
4. TV stations are now showing everything and anything and foreign and at anytime without the appropriate classifications, some have their foreign contents on CDs on the market now. Does the board know?
It is obvious their attention is on Ghanaian film producers alone and taking money from the already struggling producers, before previewing their movies and even with that taking a lot of time before issuing us certificates.
By these until the board sits up and perform its neglected duties, we will not submit our movies to them again and entreat all others to do same for what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander.
We are also appealing to the ministry of communication to take a second look at the board and its structure"..
