A veteran actor, Ekow Blankson, has praised the creativity and drive of the Kumawood industry.
He explained that their exploits are great and should be developed in a way that makes them better.
Speaking with the host of The Lowdown on GhanaWeb TV, Nii Akwei Ismail Akwei, he said that he has come to appreciate what they do because in a sense, many of them are even better than he is.
“These guys are really good talents; no two ways about it. We talk about the Concert Party team, we talk about these guys who do the Twi itself… I’ve done English through. I’m a Fante, if you want me to do a movie in Fante, it would be difficult. These guys are better than I and I think that they’re great and they’ve got a skill set that needs to be developed,” he said.
Ekow Blankson further explained that to get these talents developed in the right way, there is the need for institutions such as the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) to make it a project to particularly honed these talents.
He suggested that it would not be a wrong move should NAFTI, for instance, consider making the industry known as Kumawood, a case study in a way that will develop the sector more than it already it.
“Today, the industry in Kumasi, or Kumawood, is not as big as it used to be, or as vibrant as it used to be. They’re still doing it, but it’s not as vibrant, why? It’s because we have not really taken time to groom these guys and it’s all like ‘let’s go, let’s go, let’s do it, let’s do it,’ that kind of thing.
“There are agencies; NAFTI is there. Nothing stops NAFTI from taking Kumawood as a case study to develop that industry and help them to grow economically and everything. That is where we have a problem: they are great guys, they can do it, they can advance what they’re doing and make it really nice,” he added.
Ekow Blankson spoke to Nii Akwei Ismail Akwei on The Lowdown on the topic, the ‘Missing Link in Ghana’s Dying Movie Industry.’
Watch the latest episode of The Lowdown below:
