After exchanging his classic film ‘Ghost Tears’ with the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Ghanaian filmmaker Socrate Safo has expressed regret over the decision.
In an interview with Hitz FM, shared on social media in August 2025, Socrate Safo recounted how he and his longtime partner, Hackman, traded the movie for an advertisement deal, believing at the time that they were outsmarting the system.
“If you talk of those who gave their first film to TV, it is my partner Hackman and me. We gave our film to GBC out of ignorance. We thought we were smarter, and instead of paying for the advertisement, we thought that giving it to the TV station and requesting an advertisement was better.
Many filmmakers today don’t know anything about filmmaking – Socrate Safo
“Little did we know, if Ghost Tears were to be around today, and the system was working, we could have released Ghost Tears again,” he said.
Narrating further, Socrate Safo noted that they had the financial capacity to pay for the advertisement, however, greed got the better part of them.
“Yes, we had the money. But we thought we were playing smart. Imagine you are paying GH¢10 million for an advert,” he said.
Ghana needs a proper movie distribution system, not YouTube – Socrate Safo
He added, “When we were doing the sales, we realised that more people had not seen it… If we had taken our time and promoted it well.”
Watch the video below:
Filmmaker Socrate Safo reveals that he and longtime partner Mr. Hackman were the first to give their film *Ghost Tears* to GBC in exchange for advertising instead of paying for ads, a move he now says he regrets.#ShowBizReview pic.twitter.com/aegdgQ1jc9
— Hitz 103.9 FM (@Hitz1039FM) August 11, 2025
JHM/EB
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