Award-winning Ghanaian filmmaker Leila Djansi has expressed deep frustration over the state of the Ghanaian film industry, describing it as a “mirthless joke.”
In a scathing critique, she highlighted a lack of professionalism, poor work ethics, and the refusal of industry players to accept constructive criticism.
“Is the Ghana film industry not a joke? Sometimes, when you are given criticism, don’t just get angry and fail to actually see the import or ask the reason behind the accusation. Separate your emotions and be objective,” she stated.
Leila recounted shocking experiences, including an assistant director pausing production to sleep, a crew insisting on stopping a shoot to watch football, and wardrobe dismissing actors because their roles weren’t big enough.
READ ALSO: 7 Insights from Nadia Buari on Ghana’s Film Industry and Her Personal Life
Perhaps the most alarming was an incident where a production designer handed a real knife to an actor for a stabbing scene, which could have resulted in serious injury to John Dumelo.
In drawing comparisons, Djansi shared her experience filming in the Dominican Republic, where even a minor detail like selecting a watch for a scene was handled with meticulous care.
“Compare that to my production in the Dominican Republic, where the props guy showed me eight different watches, properly arranged, for me to choose JUST ONE, for the scene. Eight options.
“I cried tears of joy. Not because of the watches, but because someone actually cared about the details.”
She lamented Ghana’s slow progress, calling on industry players to be introspective and embrace constructive feedback.
“Look, good and bad can coexist in anything. But at what point do we stop excusing the bad and start fixing it?”
Don’t miss out! Get your daily dose of Entertainment news and more straight to your phone. Join Ghana Street Journal Whatsapp channel now!
