The National Film Authority (NFA), under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, in partnership with Silverbird Cinemas, has officially launched the second edition of the Africa Cinema Summit 2024 in Accra, Ghana.
This year’s edition themed “The Relevance of Cinema in African Communities,” is scheduled to take place at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra from Oct 7 – 10.
The three-day event will bring together delegates from more than 20 African countries to critically discuss the state of the film industry and cinema in Africa. Moreover, it will focus on the improving standards of local content creation and viewership, which are strengthening the argument for greater investment in cinema.
Speaking at the event on Thursday, June 6, 2024, the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Mark Okraku Mantey, mentioned that the government is currently reviewing a tax waiver for filmmakers in Ghana.
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“Juliet Asante and her team forwarded a document to us that they wanted a tax waiver for the film industry. it’s gone to the Attorney General’s office. The Attorney General has replied, asking some questions. I am just coming from Parliament, so we are discussing,” he noted.
The Executive Secretary of the National Film Authority, Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante, also addressed the lack of cinemas and encouraged actors in the film industry to establish their own cinemas.
“Whenever I see a gap, I see an opportunity. And so this is a big gap and sometimes even when I speak to my fellow filmmakers I say if you are in one side of the business it doesn’t mean you cannot go to the other side. It doesn’t mean that if you are an actor you cannot put up a screen and start something,” she said.
The National Film Authority board chair David Dontoh, highlighted the importance of organising such summits for the film sector.
“It is important for us to understand that Africa Cinema Summit has come like the minister said to document our culture and everything about us,” he said.
The veteran actor stressed the need to contribute towards the growth of the film industry today so that future generations can appreciate the efforts made by individuals who cared about its progress.
“So that when we are not there, these seeds that we are sowing today will generate for succeeding generations to know and understand that, there there were some people in this country who took particular interest in the development of the film industry,” he said.
The Africa Cinema Summit (ACS) is a global summit that gathers stakeholders from the film cinema. It concentrates on tackling challenges facing African cinema and providing opportunities to foster the growth of the African film industry.
