FOCAP, Federation Of Concerned Arts Professionals, an arts-based pressure group of experts with the aim of revamping the Ghanaian creative arts industry has proposed to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to acquire the abandoned Ghallywood Film Village facility.
This comes on the back of a publication by Daily Guide Newspaper that Ghallywood African Film Village, established in 2005 by William Awuku Akuffo to train persons interested in film making, has allegedly closed down.
The FOCAP, said it will be in the interest of the Creative Arts Ministry to own, revamp and resource the Film Village for the movie industry.
According to them, Ghallywood Film Village can be attach to the only Film Training school, NAFTI to help build a strong institution.
It has, in the past, trained over 3,000 people in videography, film make-up, editing, sound, light, directing, acting, modelling, scriptwriting, among others.
According to earlier reports, top industry players like Majid Michel, Akumaa Mama Zimbi, Anita Owusu, Kisa Gbekle, among others, are all products of the school.
But indications are that the school is now almost a ‘white elephant.’
NEWS-ONE visited the premises this weekend to confirm its closure, and there seems to be some iota of truth in the rumours making the rounds.
The facility looked abandoned. There were no film students at the facility. Some parts of the property are also gradually succumbing to the bad weather conditions. While parts of the roof of the school’s summer hut looks almost like it’s been ripped off, grass has also taken over major part of the once beautiful environment. The main entrance of the village has been closed to vehicles but one can walk in on foot.
There were also no security men to talk to. But there were some three men who appeared to be encroaching on the property, cutting down growing trees and picking them for firewood.
One of them who won’t mention his name told NEWS-ONE that the school is not functioning. However, he mentioned that there is another branch in Accra. He could not indicate where it is located in Accra when he was asked.
Read the Full Press Statement Below.
The film village which is located off the Tema-Aflao road sprawls a hush 200 acre land (800 plots) at Dawa in the Greater Accra Region.
FOCAP, Federation Of Concerned Arts Professionals has read in the Monday September 18, Edition of the Daily Guide’s News One newspaper a very worrying story, headlined “Ghallywood Film Village Closed Down?” the story then went further to prove currently the happenings and unfortunate level of abandonment.
FOCAP, an arts-based pressure group of experts with the aim of revamping the Ghanaian creative arts industry wants to congratulate NewsOne and its editorial team.
Firstly, FOCAP wants to congratulate Mr William Akuffo for envisaging such a wonderful dream and putting effort in securing about 200 acres of land (800 plots) for a wonderful African film village.
ln as much as he (Mr William Akuffo) is an individual who wanted to help the industry by training students of which he did personalities like Akuma Mama Zimbi who completed in 1999, Anita Owusu, Majid Michel and others who studied their acting careers with the same school.
FOCAP understands that in 2005, Mr William Akuffo with assistance from Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Agency (GYEEDA) to help accommodate and feed students of the school.
GYEEDA consequently started sending students there to undergo a 3 months intensive training for which the students were provided equipment by the government to enable them start work.
FOCAP is also reliable informed that GYEEDA intended to open between 200- 400 shops across the country specifically to sell local movies.
FOCAP also realized from research the dream Ghallywood had to establish a television station and a radio station in 2013 August.
With all the above on hindsight, FOCAP is proposing to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Arts that, with immediate effect;
1- Adopt the school and bring the school under the supervision of the Ministry.
2- Attach the Ghallywood Film Village to our only training school NAFTI to help build a strong institution.
3- Revamp the school and further help the industry get a good film village where our film industry can shoot their movies.
4- Use this film village to create more jobs for artisans by strategically partnering with the Private Media Training schools and the National Youth Employment Agency and MASLOC.
5 – Investigate how effective the GYEEDA help was and design a blueprint to integrate this into the Free SHS policy and into the tertiary education.
FOCAP is always ready to provide the necessary research, policy suggestions and clarifications as needed by necessary agencies and Commissions.
Kojo Preko Dankwa Mel Kwesi Davis Edward Acquah
Convener Convener Media Coordinator
