Ghanaian actress Gloria Sarfo has expressed a serious concern that the Ghanaian movie industry is struggling to distinguish between movies intended for the cinema and those better suited for online platforms such as YouTube.
She said some productions screened in cinemas should never have made it past streaming platforms. Sarfo argued that the lack of clear categorisation is one of the biggest challenges holding the industry back.
Speaking during GhanaWeb’s X Space on September 12, 2025, the actress compared Ghana’s situation to Nigeria, where filmmakers have created a structure that separates cinema releases from YouTube content. She believes this system has helped Nigeria maintain standards while also producing films that serve different audiences.
“I always make reference to Nigerians, and people are sometimes not happy. But one thing I know is, they have their movies that go on YouTube. They have their YouTube movies; they have their cinema movies. I think if we adapt that, it will help, because not every movie is supposed to be on YouTube and not every movie is supposed to be in the cinemas,” she explained.
Gloria noted that the practice in Ghana is often the reverse, where films other countries would upload to YouTube are instead given cinema premieres locally.
“But here in Ghana, some movies that other countries take to YouTube are what we are taking to the cinemas. Let’s be frank… some of the movies that are taken to the cinemas are just mind-blowing. I’m like, ‘Hello, should this really be a cinema movie?’” she said.
She stressed that without making such distinctions, Ghana’s film industry will continue to struggle to meet international standards and compete globally.
“We should be able to differentiate, so that we know not every movie should be taken to the cinema. Until we get to know that, we can’t meet the global market,” Gloria added.
