Selassie Ibrahim Blames NCA For Dead Movie Industry

Veteran actress and filmmaker Madam Selassie Ibrahim has called on the National Communications Authority (NCA) to enforce Ghana’s broadcasting regulations against television stations that continue to prioritise foreign programmes over locally produced content.

She accused some broadcasters of importing foreign telenovelas and dubbing them into Twi rather than investing in Ghanaian movies.

She argued that the practice undermines local filmmakers and called for regulatory intervention to ensure that television stations comply with existing local-content requirements.

“We are against ourselves, and nobody is supporting us and the TV stations are still showing foreign movies,” she said on Angel FM, Kumasi,

Madam Selassie Ibrahim said the continued broadcast of such foreign content despite concerns from local industry players demonstrates the need for stronger enforcement of existing regulations.

She therefore urged the NCA to intervene and take action against broadcasters that fail to comply with the relevant laws.

“The NCA must do something about this. We have the laws but they are not implementing it,” she stated.

According to her, the existence of laws alone will not protect Ghana’s creative industry unless regulatory authorities actively enforce them.

She maintained that stronger enforcement would help create more opportunities for Ghanaian filmmakers, increase demand for local productions, and ensure that television broadcasting contributes to the sustainability of the domestic movie industry.

Poor Distribution

She attributed the decline of Ghana’s movie industry largely to poor distribution, arguing that the industry cannot survive if films are produced without a clear pathway to reach audiences and generate revenue.

She said the industry must move beyond the pursuit of visibility and begin treating film production as a business capable of generating enough revenue to finance future projects.

“If content is seen but not making money at the end of the day, it is not a business; it’s just for visibility. You just want people to see you,” she said.

According to her, many players in the industry have focused heavily on appearing on television and gaining public recognition without paying sufficient attention to the commercial structures needed to sustain film production.

“We do not add the business aspect to our industry. Everybody wants to be on TV and wants to be seen; it’s about time we added business to it,” she stated.

Madam Selassie Ibrahim explained that developing the commercial side of the industry would create a sustainable revenue cycle, allowing filmmakers and producers to generate funds for subsequent productions.

She identified distribution as the major challenge facing the industry, stressing that producing quality content alone would not revive Ghana’s film sector if effective systems for getting those productions to paying audiences were not established.

“The major challenge is distribution,” she stressed.

She therefore called for greater attention to the business and distribution structures of Ghana’s film industry to ensure that productions translate into sustainable revenue rather than merely providing visibility for filmmakers and actors.