A three-day meeting between the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) of Nigeria and the Ghana Cinematograph Exhibition Board of Control (GCEBC) on film regulation alliance ended yesterday, with both countries signing a communique that is expected to guide their bilateral relationship in future business dispensation.
After a preliminary meeting with the Ghanaian Deputy Minister of Information, Hon. Murtala Mohammed on Wednesday where the mission of the Nigerian delegate was defined, there appeared to be a common understanding on the need to strengthen the enabling laws, as a way of preventing dumping of films by one country on the other.
The meeting arose from incidences of pornographic movies, voodoo contents and other perceived illicit themes considered detrimental to the image of the country of production. With the objectives clearly spelt out, the door was opened for the Censors Board’s Acting Director General, Madam Patricia Bala, Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs, Yunusa Abdullahi Tanko, Zonal Director, South West, Edward and senior actor, Segun Arinze, to meet with the filmmakers and marketers on the second day.
The Press Hall of the Ministry of Information, located at Adabraka, Accra was full to capacity. The huge media presence gave credence to the import of the event that had the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), AIT, Voice of Nigeria (VON) and a life broadcast by the Ghana Television (GTV) among other local media.
The event provided a platform for the stakeholders and other publics to air their views on the films being produced by both countries, adding up to the agenda for the agencies to deal with. And in view of the different government policies, the strengths and limitations of both regulatory agencies were considered and agreed should be complimentary as partners in progress.
Some of the officers from the Ghanaian authorities included Mr. Ben Imoro, Assistant Director, Ministry of Information and Mr. Ken Addy, member of Ghana Cinematograph Exhibition Board of Control .
The gathering averred that film is a powerful medium of communication and behavioral change, and that practitioners must look beyond commercial gains alone by helping also to transmit some of the African cultures that may appeal to the outside world.
Participants decry the proliferation of contents on voodoo and sex, agreeing that issues of morality is a universal problem and both countries appeared embarrassed by the development. They are worried that, through some film messages, wrong signals and perceptions are impacted on the public. They reasoned that a situation whereby every old woman is portrayed as a witch, and every rich man is thought to have engaged in some money ritual is not only telling the young ones that they may not make riches through hard-work, but also makes everyone suspicious of the other person. Thus, filmmakers were charged on the need to to try and strike a balance in the areas of perception when producing their movies.
Madam Bala expressed worries on how some films get to the market without going through the proper channels. the said in Nigeria, it is expected for anyone intending to distribute movies to get a license which the Board provides.
“If a Ghanaian wants to be a distributor, they are allowed to float a company, get a license and distribute.” She said although marketers who mostly fund movie productions, may require that they inject indecent scenes in their films as a catch for the market, it is important for them not to compromise professionalism and civic responsibility. She condemn the use of indecent languages, drawing inferences from the old culture of story telling whereby parents chose their words right, and yet communicate their messages effectively. “What signals are we sending to the future generation by using vulgar languages. We should look at what is positive and emulate it and not what is negative. When you are doing your movies to send to Nigeria, be conscious of such Indecencies. You may also need to moderate the use of some of the shots,” the NFVCB boss stated.
Mallam Tanko, emphasized the need also strike a balance Between creativity, finnancial lure and sense of responsibility. He argued that it is needless to shy away from voodoo which is a part of the reality of our existence as Africans, but that it must be presented in a creative and responsible manner. Using the Hollywood Harry Porter series as an example, Tanko said no subject is bad on its own, but much is expected from the mode of presentation.
“Every subject is good, even juju, it is the treatment that matters. Harry Porter is juju, well packaged. Whatever is African must be seen as African. There are hunted homes in Europe, and we are afraid of expressing ourselves. Let’s not condemn our films, let’s just look at better ways of telling them. If however we are tired of juju, the market will determine how it fizzles out. It’s a passing phase.” He noted.
But Mr. Samuel Odoi Mensah, President of Ghana Actors’ Guild is worried that voodoo films appear to be easily accepted as against films with hard liquor. He said due to the dearth of cinemas, CDs and DVDs go straight to the market and kids can just pick them up and watch. He noted that the churches have taken over the cinemas, such that censorship becomes almost impossible. He suggested that films that carry indecent contents should be banned outrightly instead of asking the producers to to expunge some scenes. He said until the board starts to bite, the people will keep doing the wrong thing.
As expected of a town hall meeting, opinions vary from one person to another, and so some filmmakers insist that they are inspired to produce romantic movies because sex subjects sells and as producers, they desire to recoup their investment. They believe that censorship is killing creativity, and that rather than ban films, It is the duty of censorship board to advise producers to do sex films in a way that sends positive messages.
Actor Segun Arinze appeared concerned about local children’s content. “We have lost values for our children.” He said, recalling the old television days as a child. He told the gathering that there is a conscious in South Africa in recent times whereby children are taught in the local languages.
The issues also dwelled on the post modern world, and a contributor thought that the gathering may just be pretending to be solving the problem by hiding certain contents from children. He said it would be more dangerous if the kids get to see the contents elsewhere.
Another participant is of the opinion that Africa is losing its identity through imported telenovelas.
Adding his thought on the issue, Edion expressed that the municipal laws of every country must be respected. He advised that any Nigerian film that is found in Ghana without due censorship must be taken off, while the promoters are arrested. He said that the roles of the Censors Board in Nigeria is complimented by the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission which is responsible for the regulation of television contents, in terms of the percentage of local contents, the belt hour for foreign films among other mandates.
