Derrick Boakye
Derrick Boakye, CEO of Big dreams Production, one of Ghana’s finest movie and music production houses, has suggested to his colleagues in the movie industry to take advantage of certain information in the local media to tell local stories in their movies.
He said Ghanaian movies have over the years been criticized for not exploring Ghanaian stories that have both local and foreign appeal, adding that one of the easiest ways to find a solution to the problem was researching into the media, especially the newspapers and other interesting books.
“I am not criticizing my colleagues; I appreciate what they are doing. They are trying the best they can, but some of the stories are flimsy and are often not rooted in reality. It is all about fantasy. I believe we should sit up and start doing stories that will have a realistic urge. We need to upgrade our skills to enable us meet the challenges ahead,” he indicated.
He added that “We should be able to do original stories. Up till now, we have not even done a movie about some of the country’s disasters. There are so many stories that we have to look at and that is what we at Big Dreams Production are looking at in our next films”.
In an interview, the film producer called for collaboration among stakeholders in the film industry and media practitioners for the revitalization of the Ghanaian movie industry.
“The role of media practitioners especially film critics is crucial to revamp the Ghanaian film industry, which tumble over a decades ago and is still struggling to reclaim its meaningful role in national development,” he stated.
Derrick Boakye, who is also a music producer advised stakeholders in the film industry to liaise with other relevant agencies like the media, public relation officers, professional advertisers and marketing agencies for the promotion and sale of films.
According to him, Ghanaian films could be great sources of foreign exchange, if producers and actors adhere to originality, creativity, and the engagement of other professionals in the production, to expose historical and tourist sites in the country.
Derrick Boakye expressed concern about the failure of Ghanaian films to make the mark in the international movie market.
“It was unfortunate that Ghanaian films were absent during a roll-call of best films on the African continent for acknowledgment”, he said.
Big Dreams, he noted, was set up some years back, with the objective to provide high quality entertainment through better movies, feature film among others. And it has not failed in doing so.
By George Clifford Owusu