Veteran Ghanaian filmmaker and former Director for Creative Arts at the National Commission on Culture, Socrate Safo, has blamed widespread ignorance and the rift between old and new filmmakers for the decline of the movie industry.
Speaking in an interview on Hitz FM, Safo likened filmmaking to driving — not just about operating a vehicle, but understanding the rules of the road.
According to him, too many aspiring filmmakers lack this foundational knowledge.
“People want to become filmmakers, but they do not know anything about filmmaking. They just want to get a camera and organise a few friends, and that is all,” he said.
Safo revealed that when he first entered the industry using video instead of traditional celluloid, senior filmmakers dismissed him as a joke.
“The system today inherited the ignorance of yesterday. When I got into the system, I did not get a warm reception from those who were there before. They were using celluloid cameras.
“So when they saw me using a video camera, they saw me as a joke. I couldn’t even get the opportunity to show my films in the cinemas because the older people were trying to protect their interests,” he said.
This prejudice, he explained, led to a confrontation between the two sides.
“We, the new filmmakers, also revolted. Instead of giving them the necessary respect, we were fighting them. And instead of them giving us the necessary guidance, they were restricting us,” he admitted.
He argued that, unfortunately, this cycle of conflict has continued with the younger generation.
“The same thing today; the young ones have also inherited the ignorance that made us… In a way, we rebelled against them, and they are rebelling against us. There’s no synergy,” he said.
He bluntly stated that this rift has led to the rapid decline of the film industry; “Now we are all being stupid.”
ID/MA
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