Juliet Asante believes in Ghana film school and African movies

Juliet Asante; a Harvard University graduate, an
entrepreneur, a women's rights advocate, a
contributor to the Huffington Post and a lover of
film making believes the African film industry has
the potential to surpass itself and surprise many a
sceptic.
The actress, producer director and writer said this
in a conversation we had about her firm Eagle
Productions Limited and its latest brand; Mobile
Fliks, with which she is embarking on the production
of 5-10 minutes long film for adaptation to mobile
phones.
During our chat we talked about the African film
making industry with reference to Nollywood; the
Nigerian movie industry, which is the second largest
in the world today. She also shed some light on
Ghana's National Film and Television Institute
(NAFTI).
As an entrepreneur, Juliet still has hopes for NAFTI
and believes it could reach higher and churn more
quality productions and students if the public and
private sectors step in to help improve its
infrastructure quickly to enable it relive its glory
days.
NAFTI could be saved if the fact that its standards
needs improving is recognized quickly and
appropriately remedied to enable it become one of
the best film schools in Africa again she believes.
Even though governments in Africa are not equipped
with the expertise to help develop the movie making
industry, Juliet believes they can still play a major
role in its growth by providing an enabling
environment within which the industry can thrive.
This can be done by showing some level of interest
and also making it less tedious and cumbersome for
players in the sector to access resources like loans
and other things needed to take the industry to
where it really belongs--the top.
A lot of Africa's stories have not been told,
especially by Africans and in reference to a personal
example, Juliet mentions her attempts to make a
biopic on the life and legacy of Yaa Asantewaa, an
Ashanti female warrior who lived through 1840 to
1921. She was appointed Queen Mother of Ejisu in
then Ashanti Empire of now Ghana.
Recalling her experience, Juliet explained how she
simply could not find enough materials to build the
story in the way she really wanted it to be and how
the mere lack of information was enough to kill her
desire to tell the story of Yaa Asantewaa. Juliet was
named after the Queen Mother who in the 1900's led
the Ashanti rebellion against the British in the fight
to protect the legendary Golden Stool.
In praise of Nollywood, the Harvard graduate
acknowledged it has done such a great job of
disseminating a lot of African contents into the
international movie world. Juliet believes Africa can
do further by investing in telling a lot more of the
stories about the positives and greats of the
continent that the West is oblivious about.
With the right people in place and the desire for
change, the movie industry in Africa has the
potential to even surprise its expectations because
these are exciting times for the continent and we
must seize the moment and opportunity to shine in
all aspects she said.
Source: Oral Ofori