David Dontoh cites lack of writers as biggest bane of Ghana’s film industry

Veteran Ghanaian actor, David Dontoh has shared his opinion on what he believes are some of the issues bedevilling the Ghanaian film industry.

Talking about the quality of production in Ghanaian movies in recent times, David told Nana Tuffour Boateng and Frema Adunyame on Citi TV‘s ‘Upside Down’ show that one of the things drawing Ghana back in terms of film production and theatre is the lack of good writers.

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First of all, everything starts from the script. The whole film or drama you put up on stage or television starts from the script. We have to go back to get people to be interested in writing stories. Nollywood has actually taken a leap ahead of Ghana because of the very strong writing culture in Nigeria, and theatre is a very powerful means of entertainment and information in Nigeria,” he noted.

David who has rich experience in scriptwriting, stage acting, among others, is currently the Chairman of the National Film Authority.

The authority has so far put in place some strategies to help make the Ghanaian film industry more viable.

After its inauguration by President Nana Akfuo-Addo in December 2019, it has also formed a Classification Committee which has been tasked to classify and censor audio-visual content for public consumption.

It has, under its auspices, the Local Content Committee, which is also charged to ensure the content on television is largely tailored to project the ideals of Ghana’s culture and heritage.

Recently, the National Film Authority has also instituted a Brand Name Committee to help choose a name for the Ghanaian movie industry.

It is believed that getting this identity, is the first step to reviving and marketing the film industry to the world.

David Dontoh is known for his sterling roles in movies such as ‘Sika Sunsum’, ‘Beasts of No Nation’, ‘Somewhere in Africa’, ‘Ties That Bind’, ‘Deadly Voyage’, ‘Kukurantumi- Road to Accra’, ‘No Time to Die’ and the Cursed One.

Source: CNR