Creative Arts Business and Intellectual Property Consultant Benjamin Oduro Arhin Jnr, also known as Bnoskka, has advised Kumasi-based movie filmmakers to step up their game by writing scripts for the films they produce.
He claims that despite Kumawood’s poor production quality and recurrent plotlines, the industry is making the best films it can with the resources at its disposal.
According to him, if the players in the film industry had assisted Kumawood in composing better scripts, the films would have been better.
Speaking on Asempa FM’s Showbiz Review programme last Saturday, Bnoskka expressed his belief that if filmmakers and other professionals had been willing to help those in the industry, Kumawood’s growth would have been exponential.
Bnoskka, who is also a lecturer at the University of Education in Winneba, stated that 80% of Kumawood films lack plots, and that the majority of Kumawood films require additional technical aspects to succeed.
He stated that scripted movies benefit both the directors and the actors because each actor or actress has unique emotional traits that can be handled well in a scripted movie.
“On the other hand, unscripted movies tend to focus more on the plot and lack coherence when a character performs better than expected, which allows for the misrepresentation of the natural setting and traditional authenticity. If a movie attempts to depict Ghanaian culture, it loses both its social value and its inherent value.” He added
His advice to Kumawood filmmakers was to not confine their content to the “Ghanaians” demographic but to broaden their artistic horizons and aim for a worldwide audience.
He emphasised how disturbing it is to see so few Ghanaian directors and filmmakers on international stages.
He said that many filmmakers’ ascent in the industry has been impeded by their concentration on producing content only for the local market.
Bnoskka, who just returned from participating in the Ghana Expo in Tanzania this year, stated that it will benefit the Kumasi filmmakers to include at least 50% of the screenplays in their movie writing.
Bnoskka also stated that while the Kumawood film industry has had some success, it is past time to canonise and cultivate proper structures that reflect modernism while also promoting Ghanaian culture and traditional values to global viewers in order to attract local and international investments.
