Africa Cinema Summit Comes To A Close

Written By : Abena Mensa & Naa Koshie 

Today, 16th November marked the third day since the Africa Cinema Summit commenced and it was held at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel as has been the case for all three days of the event being held in different locations. The theme for the third day hinged on THE POTENTIAL OF INVESTING IN CINEMA : INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE WIDER FILM SECTOR. Some of the speakers present included, Poet and media personality, Apiorkor, Gonzaga Gonza Rutaruuka - Senior Officer, film, video and cinematographer Uganda Communication Commission and several others. Adjetey Annang, Gloria Sarfo, Daniel Delong, Yvonne Nelson and Michael Blackson were among some of the celebrities who were in attendance at the event and shared concerns and opinions about the summit.

The focus of the third day was on the potential for growth and patronage of the sector given the right resources and opportunities. Speaking to critically acclaimed comedian Michael Blackson who was present to show his support to the event and its conveners, he expressed his interest in investing and supporting the industry. He also spoke on perception, making mention of how easy it is for Ghanaian movies to be exempted from the conversation of African cinema, or movies as opposed to their counterparts, Nigeria and South Africa owing to the lack of quality and proper infrastructure that is capable of elevating the scene taking into consideration the availability of talent within the country.

Gonzaga Gonza Rutaruuka, a cinematographer from Uganda also shared his views on the subject, touching on the impact of filmmaking in tourism. According to him, through film, directors and filmmakers are able to showcase the various locations, different landscapes, infrastructure, natural and man-made attractions that exist in a particular area or region. This he claims in addition to culture can serve as the ideal marketing tool for selling a country, its resources, location and culture to the outside world, an avenue for creating revenue streams for the country in question.

Abeiku Acquah, actor popular for his role in renowned Ghanaian television series, THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE was also present at the event and spent some time talking to the 3Music team about the advancement of the industry through investment.

Actress, Gloria Sarfo, also shared her excitement on the Africa Cinema Summit project. According to her, it is a commendable initiative which deserves all the support it needs. She touched on the essence of the summit and how it will go a long way to influence our mode of storytelling, empower directors, producers and the entire film industry. Additionally, she believes this initiative can also have a positive impact on the tourism industry since there will be an influx of foreigners in the country.

Ghanaian actor Daniel Delong also spoke  about ways filmmaking contributes to the development of tourism industry in Ghana and Africa at large, citing example of how people have gotten to know about different countries and their culture even without being present and adding that, tourism is a key factor in building a nation.