Ghanaian filmmaker Peter Sedufia has joined the debate over American actor Spike Lee’s visit to Ghana.
In an interview with Accra-based Asaase Radio, the American filmmaker stated that when he visited Ghana, no one from the film industry approached him for a meeting. He even admitted that he had no idea Ghana had a thriving film industry.
“I know about Nigeria, and no one has approached me from the film industry in Ghana. I would love to meet people in the film industry but no one has approached me,” he said.
Following this, there has been a backlash against the powers that be for failing to initiate contact with the actor.
Regardless, Peter Sedufia, the producer of films such as ‘Aloe Vera’ and ‘Keteke,’ has described the uproar over Spike Lee’s statement as “knee-jerk reactionary behaviour.”
According to him, if Ghana’s film industry wants to engage with any international figure, it should make an effort to book an appointment with them rather than wait to take advantage of people’s visits to Ghana.
Read the rest of his Facebook post here:
“These knee-jerk reactionary behaviours are part of the reason we’re stuck as an industry…
1. Do we know why Spike Lee was in Ghana?
2. Do we know his itinerary before wishing to have bombarded him with our unplanned/unsolicited film industry appointments?
3. Do we know who even invited him and on whose ticket he was here, and whether that person was opened to other people tapping into their investment?
Eg. I invite James Cameron to Ghana, pay his travel expenses and accommodation for my personal purpose, only for random people to come and bombard him with unplanned and unintended appointments.
Does this make sense to any right thinking person?
If Spike Lee wanted to meet Ghanaian filmmaking Community, he would have mentioned it before coming, then we’d be aware of the invitation to treat. Or, whoever was inviting him would have made that known.
He can’t pretend not to know people make films in Ghana.
If he was invited on the ticket of the government, then there’s a communication failure somewhere.
I cannot single-handedly make my way to Spike Lee to make an appointment to have an entire film industry conversation with him.
Where’s my access point?
People should just chill about these [sic] whole brouhaha.
When asked who they contacted for the meeting, Juliet Yaa Asantewaa Asante, Executive Secretary of the National Film Authority, told the press it was someone introduced to them as Spike Lee’s personal assistant.
“His PA was the one who introduced us,” he said.
In the midst of all of this, some have questioned the Beyond the Return Secretariat’s role in situations like this.
