The Ghana movie industry has grown over the years. It has made significant strides despite its many challenges.
Currently, the industry boasts a new crop of actors who are going
international. We all agree to give honour to whom honour is
due, so there is the need to acknowledge the pacesetters in this
industry.
Acknowledgement could come in the form of awards, a pat on the back or
even a callback of these pacesetters to teach the new generation some of
the nitty-gritty of the industry or useful lessons.
This piece, therefore, is first of all, a call for the return of our
veterans onto our screens and, second, a clarion call for them to be
honoured, for they deserve it.
An impressive list of actors and actresses
I grew up watching the likes of Regina Pornotey, Monica Quacopoome,
Victor Lutterodt, Mac Jordan Amartey, Kofi Bucknor, Kofi
Middenton-Mends, Professor Martin Owusu, Brew Riverson Jnr, Grace
Nortey, Grace Omaboe (Maame Dokono), Omanza Shaw, David Dontoh, Akorfa
Edjeani-Asiedu, Sheila Nortey, Edinam Atatsi, Mawuli Semevor, Mary
Yirenkyi, Nat Banini, Eunice Banini, Adjoa Pieterson, Kojo Demanya,
George Williams, Dzifa Gomashie, and Juliet Asante in African movies and
TV theatres of local entertainment content. The list goes on
and on.
I vividly recollect that in that era, African movies were a delight to
watch as they were only shown to us during Easter, Christmas and at
times on public holidays. In those days, families sat by
their TV sets and those who did not have, joined families who had.
Those were memorable family times! That was the era
when cinemas were making money. My unfailing memory reminds
me of the Picorna Cinema, Sid Theatre Cinemas, Orion Cinema, Gama Films,
Vision 66 and many more.
For a movie lover like me and other viewers we were simply satisfied
with the movie trailers running on our screens and that was enough to
whet our appetite. We only prayed that a particular movie
that delighted us would be among the ones selected to be aired during
the Yuletide.
A sample of films of yesteryear
Back then we had exciting movies like Step Dad, Who Killed Nancy?,
Harvest at 17, Suzzy, Ghost Tears, The Schemers, Twisted Fate, Jennifer,
Child at 6:30pm, A Stab in the Dark and Baby Thiefgracing our screens.
Those movies created excitement in us and a level of pride as
Ghanaians. We the children not only watched for the fun of
it all but also watched out for exciting “terms” that would later become
accolades among ourselves.
There were times some of these movies were aired as late as 10:30 p.m.,
mainly after the late news. Of course GTV had monopoly at the
time, thanks to GAMA Films. The movies were aired around
that time to prevent children from watching as they either featured
romantic or bloody scenes, which GTV classified as unwholesome for
children.
I must confess that my curiosity led me to pretend to be asleep, not in
the bedroom, but in the living room on one occasion and I chanced to
watch what could be termed Ghana’s version of a horror movie.
It was titled Matta: Our Missing Children.
If my memory serves me well, it featured Brew Riverson Jnr as the main
character and Alexandra Duah of blessed memory. Was it bloody
and scary! I could not sleep that night. Thus,
in pretending to be asleep when I wasn’t, I had bitten off more than I
could chew.
I also remember another one that was aired at night titled Sergent
Abebrese. That also scared the hell out of me. One
phrase I remember in that particular one was “Aha ye abosom fie, yemfa
mpaboa mma ha” (a Twi expression meaning, This is a shrine and sandals
are not allowed here).
This statement was made by Amanobea Dodoo, another wonderful actress
(that is, if my memory serves me well). I vividly remember
picking up lines like “do you know your father is a criminal and your
mother a trickster and your grandfather a ragamuffin rascal?
“I don’t trust you, the way your nose is shaking plierplier .
. . like that,” from a scene in a movie.
This became a popular saying among we the children who watched Nat
Banini say this line.
In the old Ghanaian movie setting, I also vividly remember Victor
Lutterodt playing the stereotype role of a daft husband after either
molesting teenage girlsor cheating on his wife. Grace Nortey
and Maame Dokono played the roles of mother very well. The
interesting part of their roles was that they always turned out as
in-laws or co-tenants, who were always at each other’s throat.
Omanza Shaw, Wakefield Ackuaku and Kwame Sefa Kayi were always known for
the playboy, rich young men who were always frolicking with the young
girls. Fred Amugi played the loving father who mostly put his
family in trouble. There is also old Mac Jordan Amartey, the
quarrelsome landlord who was always ejecting people from his house.
Impeccable English speaking Doris Sackitey played a subtle role of the
mother. The likes of Juliet Asante, Kalsoume Sinare, Akofa
Edjeani-Asiedu and Sheila Nortey did not mince words executing the bad
girl roles. These and many others whose names I can’t
immediately remember were the stars the Ghana movie industry created to
entertain us in the ’90s.
A change in direction
Growing from the ’90s, we started seeing movie trailers portraying
Ghana-Nigeria collaborations. One of such that I remember
quite well was aired in the Christmas season. I seem to
remember these movies because I have always been interested in the arts
right from adolescence. I kept these particular movie
trailers and the times in mind.
To my surprise I watched the supposed “Ghana-Nigeria collaborations”
that featured Kalsoume Sinare, Monalisa Chinda and Tricia Esigbe.
They were titled Marishika and the Visitor. In truth, I
was infuriated after watching the movies as I felt they were over hyped
and with no moral lessons.
Both were movies about the underworld and the quest for power and money.
For me this was the beginning of embracing the
Ghana-Nigeria collaboration in the industry.
It was a good innovation: Ghana is collaborating with Nigeria.
Why not? But little did we know that the competition was
going to come with many challenges for the industry. First,
for some interesting reason, Nigerian movie producers relocated to Ghana
– the likes of Jake Aernam relocated to Ghana. I kept
wondering, Why the relocation? (Was it to hit the jackpot
from an industry that was young and vibrant?)
Next, they encouraged collaborations, perhaps a ploy adopted to get the
Nigerian movies aired on national television.
Then came the blast; they started airing Nigerian movie trailers on our
screen and the sale of movies on VHS increased, a venture that our then
movie industry could not utilize to their benefit as VHS was a preserve
of the rich. The young Ghanaian industry aired their movies
continually at the cinemas, making money for them. The movies
were aired till everyone got a feel of the movies. Then the
movies made their way unto VHS and were later handed over to GTV to air
to us the “unreached” viewers.
So now the sale of VHS became what I would call the big deal.
Gradually for the affluent who could afford VHS, they preferred the
buying of VHS to watching at cinemas. This development
eventually became one of the factors that hindered our cinema watching
experience, not to talk of what the Nigerian collaborations did to our
young and vibrant industry. Anybody who closely watched the
development from afar would agree with me that for the then producers in
the industry, movies were not principally about money, but more about
telling the African story the Ghanaian way.
These and many other reasons I will surely highlight in my subsequent
write-up on the collapse of the once-vibrant cinemas in Ghana which have
now given way to movie houses.
The multi-million-dollar question
Now to the all-important question that prompted the writing of this
article: Where are all these gorgeous, smart, intelligent actors and
actresses who graced our screens in the ’80s and ’90s? One
could well answer that death has snatched some away. Yes,
indeed, some have passed away. But what has become of those
alive? Just where are they now?
For me it’s an eyesore and, with all due respect, an insult seeing the
likes of Jackie Appiah or Yvonne Nelson playing the role of a mother,
not to talk about the role of grandmum. What a struggle the
new crop of actors have playing the role of a father! Lest
this be misconstrued, I’m not saying they cannot play the role, but if
for nothing at all, just watch and learn how the likes of Patience
Ozorkwor, Joke Silva, Olu Jacob, Alex Usifo execute their motherly and
fatherly roles with ease and a touch of class.
In my research, I once interviewed Roger Quartey of RQ Productions and
posed this question as to where the veterans in the industry are.
His response? ‘They are there but difficult to contact
because their numbers are not readily available. Second, my
colleague producers want to use faces that will sell their movies.
Lastly, you would be surprised to know that the older generation
does not charge as much as the younger ones do.
Roger Quartey’s response got me wondering, Do these old faces really
need a lot of PR work done for them or is it a case of a nation failing
to honour and recognize their efforts? As I wondered if
there was a better way of helping them build their PR, my thoughts faded
off. I wondered how come David Dontoh, Akofa
Edjeani-Aseidu, Doris Sackitey, Kofi Bucknor, Omar Hunter and Fred Amugi
have enjoyed some movie presence in recent times? In the
long run, then, it is not about the veterans not doing their work well
or not keeping in contact with the current crop of producers.
In my search for answers, one thing crystallized: Whereas the veterans
would scrutinize a script thoroughly and would not entertain nude
scenes, this young crop of actors would readily accept any script and
embrace even nude scenes. So here lies the difference!
Let’s honour them now
About a year ago, veteran Grace Nortey complained bitterly about how she
had been neglected by the industry. I last read a report on
old Mac Jordan Amartey and Amanobea Dodoo who until recently had been
involved in lots of movies with the younger generation, to the effect
that they have both been ill and bedridden. Now the others
like Regina Pornotey, Monica Quarcopoome, Omanza Shaw, Victor Lutterodt,
Brew Riverson Jnr, Edinam Atatsi, Mawuli Semevor, Diana Gbartey, Agnes
Dapaah, Prof. Martin Owusu, Grace Omaboe and the many others
whose names I can’t remember, where are they now and what will it take
to have them back on our screens?
It is said that a nation that does not honour its heroes is not worth
dying for. Believe it or not, these veterans are our heroes
and heroines in the industry. Most of us grew up watching and
admiring them. Even the new generation would attest to this
fact.
I was one of those who applauded the introduction of the Ghana Movie
Awards into the industry. My reason is simple: Such a move
was long overdue. For reasons I would rather keep to myself, I
would not even want to delve into the categories or the awards.
My major concern here is why the event organizers decided to honour
Nigerians when we have these veteran actors with us here in Ghana.
Do we want them to die before we confer posthumous awards on them?
Please let’s get serious. This write-up reminds
me of a “free” piece of advice I gave to one of the organizers of the
Ghana Movie awards. I said: “So won’t you guys honour Mac
Jordan, Kofi Bucknor, Omar Hunter and the others before we lose them?
The response was, “Oooo yea, you are right and that is true.”
As someone who has a deep interest in the arts, I keenly followed last
year’s awards only to realize that my advice had not been heeded.
True to what we Ghanaians are best known for, the organizers
conferred a posthumous award on the late Prof. Kofi Awoonor.
Did he have to die before getting honoured? Have
we sat down to think about how the veterans feel now? Putting
ourselves in their shoes might best answer that question.
I would end this piece with a quote from the 16th president of the
United States, Abraham Lincoln. He said: “Any nation that
does not honor its heroes will not long endure.” Need I explain further?
How do we intend sustaining this industry if its founders or
heroes (for want of a better word) are not honoured?
Let’s face it, these veterans set the tone and the foundation for what
we proudly boast of in the Ghana movie industry. What will it
take to make them feel honoured? I would end with a call on
movie producers and stakeholders who are concerned about movies to try
and bring, if not all, at least a few of these faces back into the
industry and see if the industry will not bounce in remarkable strides
in terms of acting, language, script-writing, sanity and poise.
