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25 projects selected for NFA maiden pitch series

Twenty-five out of about 100 Ghanaian film-related projects were Wednesday shortlisted for the next stage of the National Film Authority’s (NFA) maiden Pitch Series.

The competition aims to connect creative projects in the county’s movie ecosystem to global investors, as part of a strategy to revamp the local movie industry and reposition it for greatness.

Selected after a four-week screening process, six of the shortlisted projects which includes documentaries, feature and short films and series would be chosen to receive funding in the finale of the series.

The initiative is a partnership between the NFA, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), MultiChoice and others.

Some of the Shortlisted projects announced at an event held in Accra were Bukom, Mysteries of the golden stool, A dream to die for, Heroes of the past, Casting Africa, 1,000 kilometres/love , Tutu, Film Tourism – Destination Africa, Akuaba , We too, Bosompem, My Cape Coast love and  Akwaaba Magic.

The NFA Executive Secretary, Ms Juliet Asante, said the series was the flagship project of the authority toward making the country a film hub and linking filmmakers to investors, for potential collaborations and other opportunities.

She said the vision of the authority was to improve the entire value chain of the film industry, make local movies attractive to Ghanaians and the world as well as keep the cultural heritage of the country alive through storytelling.

To whip up interest in local movies, she said the authority was collaborating with relevant stakeholders to draft a local content bill for film, which would ensure that specific times on television were dedicated to local productions.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GIPC, Yoofi Grant, described the film industry as a venture that needed the right support to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.

He said the industry would create jobs and other economic opportunities to many talented people and rallied investors to explore the industry especially within participants of the series.

 Delivering his report, Ivan Quashigah, the Chief Executive Officer of Farmhouse Productions who served as the Selection Committee Chairman, said the projects were selected based on their originality, impact, among other benchmarks.

 He said producers of five other projects would be selected to join the 25 nominees to undergo further training to enhance their film making skills and build their capacity to seek funding.

From the screening, we observed that; “Ghanaians have great ideas which would go higher if given the opportunities and needed support”, he said, urging those who were not selected to continue chasing their dreams.

The Managing Director of MultiChoice Ghana, Cecil Sunkwa-Mills announced that in continuation of the company’s commitment to the promotion of Ghanaian Content, “Akwaaba Magic”, a new 24hour channel would be introduced soon.

BY JONATHAN DONKOR

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