Celebrated Ghanaian comedian and filmmaker Kwaku Sintim-Misa, widely known as KSM, has expressed concern about the persistent structural void in Ghana’s film industry, noting that despite a wealth of talent and creative energy, the sector is being held back by the absence of a functioning framework.
During a conversation on The Career show aired on Joy Learning TV and Joy News, KSM praised the industry’s potential but underscored a critical need for direction and planning.
“In Ghana, our film industry is amazing. We have all the ingredients for a great film industry, but I don’t think we have the recipe right yet,” he said.
While some creatives have managed to carve out successful approaches, he emphasized that the majority still grapple with the fundamentals of sustainable filmmaking.
“We have some segments of Ghanaians who now have the recipe, but for the most part, that’s what we have struggled with in the industry,” he added.
KSM attributed the issue to the industry’s relative infancy, explaining that Ghana has yet to reach the maturity seen in other markets. He cited Nigeria’s Nollywood as an example of an ecosystem that has had years to evolve and fine-tune its operations.
“Unfortunately, it is still a growing industry. We can’t compare the film industry in Ghana to that of Nigeria. The Nigerians have had a longer time of being exposed to making films. And the more they make them, the more they get better. The more they produce, the more they devise ways of distributing them. Eventually, you realize you’ve developed a system that works for you,” KSM stated.
Unlike Nigeria, Ghana still lacks a consistent and efficient distribution system. KSM described the financial strain many filmmakers endure, noting that once production costs are covered, the struggle begins anew to get the films in front of audiences.
READ ALSO: “I’m The Chosen One” After Years Of Setbacks – King Promise Reflects on TGMA Win
“Somebody will hustle to make money, then hustle to pay for the film. And after paying for the film, the actors, and everyone else involved, they now have to hustle again just to distribute the film. There are no proper distribution outlets,” he lamented.
He reflected on earlier days when physical formats were king—films were copied onto CDs or DVDs and distributed via street hawking, an approach he believes illustrates the absence of a true system.
“It got to a point where, when you made a film in Ghana, it went straight to CD. Even before DVDs, there were CDs. To sell the film, you had to mount a float and sell the CDs. This is not a distribution system. The recipe is not working,” he stressed.
Though he acknowledged the efforts of contemporary filmmakers who get their movies into cinema spaces, KSM noted that the lack of synchronized distribution across cities weakens the industry’s overall impact.
“We have some great filmmakers in Ghana. Even now, I know great films. In places with a developed system, once a film is released in one cinema, it is simultaneously shown in others, Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, Sunyani, reaching over 200 cinemas at the same time. But in Ghana, because we don’t have a well-developed system, a film may premiere at Silverbird in Accra, and then the producers have to manually arrange for showings in Kumasi. That kind of model doesn’t support industry growth,” KSM concluded.
