Prez Mahama lauds Kumawood movies

daniel russell

August 13, 2015 1:22 PM

Some people have said that majority of movies being churned out by movie producers in the local language were negating the progress of the Ghanaian movies industry.

Films from Kumasi have improved in quality, President John Mahama has observed.

Ghana’s culturally dignified city of Kumasi is the home of the Akan movie industry known as Kumawood. Though “Kumawood” is a registered brand of Samdackus Initiatives’ award ceremony - Kumawood and Akoben Movie Awards, it has been used as an industry name for movies from Kumasi.

The sector has received several backlash from a section of the public. They have described films produced from there as substandard.

It would be recalled that Ghanaian actor, Ekow Smith once remarked that majority of movies being churned out by movie producers in the local language were negating the progress of the Ghanaian movies industry.

But President Mahama in an interview with Uniiq FM in Accra said, “They are getting there. If you look at some of the very early movies, they were quite amateurish but they are beginning to get their arts together. It’s interesting. There is a lot of humour.”

He also noted that anytime he embarked on trips, the only movies shown on the flight were Ghanaian movies.

"I watch Ghanaian movies as well as some very good Nigerian movies. I like John Dumelo and Lil Win who will make you laugh so well just as Agya Koo and Kyeiwaa. The likes of Emelia Brobbey, Jackie Appiah and the rest are doing very well… I like some of the films Shirley Frimpong Manso has produced. She is an exceptional producer… When we are traveling we only watch Ghanaian and Nigerian movies on the plane considering that you are travelling for about seven or eight hours so you need something to make you feel relaxed,” the president said.

daniel russell