James Gardiner
Actor and Deputy Executive Secretary of the National Film Authority (NFA), James Gardiner, has urged Ghanaians to support locally produced films, arguing that quality and audience backing matter more than the country’s population size in determining commercial success.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z in an interview with arts and culture journalist, Kwame Dadzie, he said good films could attract audiences beyond Ghana if filmmakers paid attention to quality and received the necessary local support.
“If a film is good, it will travel. When a film is good, forget the numbers, it will travel,” he said.
James noted that although population size played a role in the commercial performance of films, it should not become the main focus of discussions about the industry’s prospects.
He stressed that Ghanaian films needed a strong support system to thrive, adding that efforts to create a favourable environment for producers and other industry players would yield little without audiences willing to patronise their work.
The actor also criticised what he described as the tendency of some Ghanaians to be more accepting of foreign productions while subjecting local films to excessive scrutiny.
According to him, some viewers approach Ghanaian films with the intention of identifying flaws rather than appreciating the work that goes into producing them.
He maintained that several Ghanaian films deserved greater recognition and support from local audiences.