Leila Djansi is a Ghanaian filmmaker
Ghanaian-American filmmaker Leila Djansi has expressed concern over what she perceives as the politicisation of the National Film Authority (NFA), insisting that the organisation should focus on developing Ghana’s film industry rather than political affiliations.
In an interview on Hitz FM on September 9, 2025, she noted that filmmaking is about art and creativity, not politics.
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She explained that her decision not to reach out to the current NFA leadership is not because she is unwilling to support the industry, but because she does not want to be caught up in political dealings.
According to her, she is willing to doing everything within her power to contribute to the growth of the film industry without engaging in politics.
Leila Djansi also called for a decentralisation of the NFA’s operations. She argued that filmmakers across Ghana should have access to NFA offices in their districts instead of relying solely on the Accra office.
Being a storyteller is about service, not fame – Leila Djansi tells Ghanaian filmmakers
She proposed that each office could be empowered to handle specific tasks relevant to its locality.
“I feel like the NFA is politicised which should not be so. I would do what I can do for the immediate industry but anything that is political, I’m not going to be involved in it. Because the film industry should not be politicised. It is not politics, it is art.
“The NFA is a government office, it’s supposed to be a relationship between the film industry and the government. Their job is to do permit, regulate people coming in to work and other things. To appeal to the government or the government to pass an enabling environment through them.
“Again, it should not be a centralized office. It should be in Accra, we should have an NFA in every single district capital and probably, each of them empowered differently. For instance, if I’m going to film a wedding in Ho and I’m going to fly a drone, I go to the NFA office and pay my permit to fly a drone,” she said.
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