Pascal Amanfo is a Ghanaian-based Nigerian film director
Ghanaian-based Nigerian film director Pascal Amanfo has expressed deep frustration with the Ghanaian movie industry after alleging that a local television station broadcast his newly released film barely hours after it premiered on YouTube.
According to Amanfo, the movie went live online at 11:00 a.m., but by 6:00 p.m. the same day, a TV station had already aired it without his consent.
In a video shared on social media, the director passionately said, “I’m officially done with the Ghana movie industry. How can a movie released at 11 a.m. be showing on TV at 6 p.m. the same day?”
He described the incident as a devastating blow to an industry he believes is already “struggling to breathe” and noted that piracy continues to cripple the sector, making it nearly impossible to convince investors to support local productions.
Amanfo revealed that the pirated project had been financed by a Nigerian colleague he personally convinced to invest in Ghana’s “ailing, almost comatose” movie landscape.
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For such a film to be illegally broadcast within hours, he said, was not only disrespectful but also financially damaging to the producer, cast, and crew.
“How does the producer who came to invest money to help our industry and actors make his money back? How does it make sense to him to invest more in the industry?” he lamented.
The director emphasised that many people underestimate the cost, sacrifice, and labour involved in filmmaking, and such actions further discourage the meaningful investment needed to revive the sector.
Amanfo vowed to follow up on the matter and issued a stern warning to media houses, stressing that these violations will no longer be tolerated as he continues to advocate for stronger protection of creative works in Ghana.
ID/BAI
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