Ghanaian-American filmmaker, Leila Djansi, has criticized the long-standing structures in Ghana’s film industry. She argued that the institutions meant to support the sector have instead become obstacles.
During a discussion on Hitz FM, Djansi said she would immediately dismantle all the guilds operating in the industry if given the opportunity. She believes they have lost their purpose and now act as barriers rather than enablers.
“If you allow me to fix the Ghana film industry, the first thing I will do is to dismantle every single guild. I will collapse all of them because they are obsolete and just there as gatekeepers. They are not really doing anything,” she said.
Djansi also blamed Opera Square, once Ghana’s dominant film distribution hub, for much of the industry’s current struggles. According to her, the platform’s refusal to adapt during the global transition to digital distribution left Ghana’s film sector lagging behind.
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“Opera Square is the reason Ghana is in the distribution hell hole right now because when things were moving digital, they were still there 500 cedis every Monday to control how films were released. Nobody regulated them; somebody should have regulated them,” the filmmaker stated.
She added that those who failed to embrace modern trends during the digital shift have now found their way into guilds, continuing to influence the industry despite their earlier missteps.
“When the digital switch happened, they didn’t understand modern trends… They didn’t move when things moved… Those same people have now infiltrated guilds and are still benefiting from the chaos,” Leila Djansi further stated.
Watch her statement below.
