Renowned Ghanaian filmmaker Ama K. Abebrese has expressed deep concern over the continued copyright violations of Ghanaian films by local television stations, warning that the practice poses a serious threat to the country’s film industry.
Appearing on UTV, Ama shared a personal experience involving her critically acclaimed film, The Burial of Kojo, which debuted on Netflix on March 31, 2019.
Shockingly, just a month after its release, she discovered that a local TV station had broadcast the film without her permission.
“I don’t know where this TV station was. And I remember we hadn’t even been paid by Netflix for the film.
“It was a struggle to make that film. We couldn’t find investors, so we resorted to Kickstarter. Then a TV station showed it without permission. And we actually contacted the TV station, and the person we contacted started playing dumb. He even blocked my number,” she said.
She also recounted her past experience as Head of Productions at Viasat 1, narrating how they legally acquired film rights for the Hollywood movie ‘Harry Potter,’ only for rival TV stations to show the movie without any authorisation.
“This is something I’ve been dealing with since 2012. Nothing has been done. People feel like they can do whatever they want because they know someone in power,” she said in frustration.
She also criticised the lack of seriousness with which the arts are treated in Ghana.
“I feel like in Ghana, the arts are really not taken seriously. Especially by our lawmakers. They see it as just entertainment,” she added.
Ama warned that unless decisive action is taken to clamp down on piracy and enforce copyright laws, the film industry will continue to suffer.
“People say that the Ghanaian movie industry is dead and that it’s not going anywhere. But when people have been investing their own money, not only are you not supporting them, but you’re killing the industry by pirating it. We’re our own worst enemies.
“So, until something is done, we will talk about it every two or three months, and they’ll keep doing it,” she said.
