Selassie Ibrahim Blames TV Stations for Decline of Ghanaian Cinema

Ghanaian actress and film producer, Selassie Ibrahim, has launched a scathing criticism against local television stations, accusing them of abandoning Ghanaian filmmakers and playing a major role in the decline of the nation’s movie industry.

In an interview on with Doreen Avio and Kwame Dadzie, Ibrahim Selassie expressed deep frustration over what she described as the persistent preference for cheap, outdated foreign content, particularly old Spanish telenovelas and Nigerian movies, at the expense of Ghanaian productions.

According to her, many TV stations deliberately opt for foreign films, some over 20 years old, and simply dub them in Twi for broadcast. “They destroyed the industry. They prefer going to the Spanish market to buy 20-year-old telenovelas and dub them in Twi,” she lamented.

Ibrahim contrasted the situation with neighboring Nigeria, noting that it is almost impossible to find Ghanaian films aired on major Nigerian networks. Yet Ghanaian stations, she said, continue to “flood their platforms” with foreign material without considering the damaging effects on the local industry.

She recalled previously raising these concerns and receiving backlash, but said she remains committed to speaking out. “These TV stations and some Ghanaians don’t like patronizing their own,” she stated, adding that she sometimes wonders whether producers have offended viewers or broadcasters.

“We don’t like celebrating our own.”

One of the most crippling issues, she disclosed, is the meagre fees offered by TV stations to Ghanaian producers. “Till today, you shoot content and take it to them, and they look at you and say they will give you 1,000 cedis, even when you’ve spent over 20,000 or 30,000 dollars on the project,” she revealed. Meanwhile, these same stations are willing to invest significantly in old Nigerian movies or foreign telenovelas.

Calling the situation “very absurd,” Selassie Ibrahim stressed that the collapse of the Ghanaian movie industry did not happen by chance. “It started from the TV channels because they killed our industry,” she insisted.

She urged television stations to partner with local producers to develop quality Ghanaian content, instead of relying heavily on foreign productions. Such collaborations, she argued, would help revive the struggling sector.

Though not someone who frequently speaks publicly, Ibrahim Selassie said issues like this deeply affect her, prompting the passionate and sometimes emotional responses she gives when the opportunity arises.