Lack of GH historical films not good

Movie making is a universal trade; the models, business trends and forms of selling them are the same everywhere, albeit, some industries being well developed than others.

As a people and as a nation, we find ourselves here as a result of a certain history and it is imperative to always preserve that.

Successful industries like Hollywood put premium on the making of historical films – films based on their wars, on civil rights, on their Presidents, on their acclaimed sports men and entertainers. 

There are best-selling movies on Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Mohammed Ali, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and many others.

Burgeoning industries like Nollywood are seeing the light too; the knowledge of selling movies and preserving its history at the same time, all by shooting movies, accurately or loosely based on their history or historical events.

The closest we come to shooting films based on our Ghanaian historical events are when we do the likes of ‘Castro Amanehunu’, ‘Anas Ne Judges’, ‘Ayaricough 1&2’ and a plethora of others.

An upcoming Nigerian movie, ‘76’, based on the 1976 coup that toppled President Murtala Mohammed, is generating rave reviews at major international film festivals presently. The movie also chronicles the life of former President Olusegun Obasanjo during the struggle. 

Do we have the material?

That is a laughable question but it is an appropriate one, especially when our famed producers and directors have totally shunned the making of movies based on our history.

Yes, we do have all the historical materials to shoot plenty movies and they are rich stories too – stories that can entice and excite any audience.

If Nollywood could tell their coup stories with such panache and generate huge revenue from them, why not Ghana? Ghana had more coups. Stories on Kwame Nkrumah, Jerry John Rawlings, The Big Six, The Ashanti Dynasty and many others are more compelling than most.

If movies based on the love life of Barack Obama and Michelle Obama can be produced, how can that enthralling love story between Jerry Rawlings and Nana Konadu not be shot?

If five or more different movies can be produced on Mohammed Ali alone, who says an epic of Azumah Nelson making it from the slums of Bukom to international prominence won’t sell?

Lack of appreciation of history films

The lack of Ghanaian historical films is a worrying phenomenon and the film producers and directors do know this trend but - they do have an excuse for not trying.

Almost all the acclaimed producers and directors in Ghana come up with the same reason they stay away from such ventures; the lack of appreciation for such movies by the public – meaning, they don’t sell.

They don’t sell? How will they when none has even been made? Which compelling historical event or personality in Ghana has been shot as a movie, given adequate publicity, screened at international film festivals and not made a mark?

Make the attempt, engage the persons who were part of that history in the marketing of the movie and see the effect.

Lack of budget & support

This is another excuse often expressed by our accomplished producers and directors for not doing historical films. This reasoning is not flippant!

Filmmaking is a big venture and the shooting of movies based on historical events even comes with a bigger budget. Shooting such movies mean altering locations, set and wardrobe to suit the year of the 70s, 80s or 90s among others. And that come with big funding.

Without the requisite budget and support from government, various institutions and the corporate firms, our filmmakers can do little.

The Nigerian movie, ‘76’, was shot with a staggering budget of N600million ($3million) and the end product is telling.

Another Nigerian Movie, ‘October 1’, released last year and loosely based on happenings that shrouded Nigeria’s independence was shot on a $2million budget and was supported by the Lagos State Government, Toyota Nigeria, Guinness, Sovereign Trust Insurance Nigeria and Elizade Motors, also in Nigeria.

Lack of research

Generally, Ghanaian dread research, they abhor reading and would rather focus on something else that won’t be time-consuming.

Why should that typical Ghanaian producer expend time and resource in some library looking for information or be chasing that personality the movie will be based on, to get his mindset on the plot? Why go to these lengths when you can simply revise some Bollywood movie and shoot a Ghanaian version or just capitalise on any headline-making story like the ‘Kalypo’ frenzy and make a movie on it.

Historical movies are predominantly hinged on research and if our producers want to attempt such a laudable and lucrative venture, they must do a lot more reading and research, and also consult scholars on the crucial aspects of the story, to ensure historical accuracy.

The historical account of the movie, ‘76’ had the support of the Nigerian Military as the script went through a seven-month investigation and approval period before filming started. The military also assigned personnel to train the actors and guide the military aspect of the film. 

Importance of Historical Films

Films are important tools that can help push a cause, agenda and a resolution. It is that element that can help promulgate our culture, traditions and most importantly, our history. They are also powerful tools for creating realistic and lasting impressions.

Film is perhaps more like these records of daily life than it is like the documents that record great events. Motion pictures may provide the best evidence of what it was like to walk down the streets of Bukom in the 1980s, what a Yaa Asantewaa-led war was like in the 1940s, what the African Cup Winning match in Ghana in  the 1970s looked like, or how people survived and succeeded in ear that was blighted by coups.

We are the best storytellers of our own history, not some foreign production house that will tilt the accuracy of that rich history to suit their agenda, and in advocating for such an enterprise, support from all quarters is key.