Ghanaian filmmaker Socrate Safo has stated that the country’s movie industry needs a well-structured distribution system if it wants to grow and compete with other markets.
In an interview on Hitz FM on August 5, 2025, he noted that the current situation, where most filmmakers rely solely on YouTube to distribute their movies, is not sustainable and does not generate sufficient revenue.
“As an industry, let’s sit and come up with a structured channel of distribution. Check every country that has developed; they didn’t start from where we see them today. They had challenges, and then they came up with regulations to fix them. As we speak now, the biggest challenge facing the industry is the channel of distribution,” Socrate said.
He explained that countries with strong film industries encountered similar issues in the past but overcame them by creating proper structures.
According to him, Ghana’s movie industry has yet to address this critical problem, leaving filmmakers with very few viable options for distributing their work after production.
He questioned the current trend of relying heavily on YouTube as the main outlet, pointing out that it is not profitable for the majority of content creators.
“When we finish a film, how do we distribute it? Is YouTube a profitable channel of distribution? Just because someone claims to be making money on YouTube, everyone is following that path. But when you talk to them, most of them aren’t actually making money,” he added.
“Is YouTube a profitable channel of distribution?” – Filmmaker Socrate Safo quizzes #ShowbizReview pic.twitter.com/MtJhAwjgqb
— Hitz 103.9 FM (@Hitz1039FM) August 5, 2025
Meanwhile, you can watch GhanaWeb TV’s exclusive interview with the ‘queen’ of décor, making strides since Rawlings’ era
AK/MA