Ghanaian actress, filmmaker and TV host Selassie Ibrahim has taken a strong swipe at television stations in Ghana, accusing them of contributing significantly to the collapse of the local movie industry.
Speaking in an interview on Hitz FM with Kwame Dadzie and Doreen Avio on Tuesday December 2, the veteran actress said TV stations have consistently failed to support Ghanaian-produced movies, while readily promoting foreign content.
Selassie, who has been vocal on the subject for years, said she is unfazed by criticism and will continue speaking out until major change happens.
“The TV channels are not helping us. I’ll say it again. I don’t care what they think. I don’t care what they say,” she stated. “I will keep saying it until they help us.”
She compared Ghana’s situation to Nigeria, stressing that Nigerian TV channels do not prioritise Ghanaian movies—yet Ghanaian stations have no problem sidelining local productions in favour of foreign films and series.
“When you go to Nigeria, you don’t find them watching any Ghanaian movie. But Ghana, anything foreign is fine. Everything Ghana is bad. They will criticise. They will not go and watch,” she lamented.
According to Selassie, this lack of local appreciation has deeply harmed the film sector, gradually crippling Ghana’s movie industry.
“We don’t know how to celebrate our own, and that is what has killed Ghana movie till today,” she said.
The actress further expressed frustration over the extremely low amounts TV stations offer filmmakers after they have invested heavily in production.
She revealed that some Ghanaian TV channels boldly offer as little as GH¢1,000 for films that cost $20,000 to $30,000 to produce.
“You shoot a content and send it to TV channels; they look into your eyes and tell you, ‘I’ll give you thousand Ghana.’ But I’ve spent over $20,000, $30,000,” she said.
Meanwhile, she noted, TV stations purchase old Nigerian films — already profitable from cinema releases — at similarly low prices, and still expect Ghanaian producers to accept those offers.
“You don’t go and buy movies that are 10 years old… for five hundred Ghana, thousand Ghana, and then want us to sell ours the same. Do you want us to collapse?” she questioned.
Selassie insisted that the undervaluing of Ghanaian content by local broadcasters is a major factor behind the narrative that “Ghana film is dead.”
“When people say Ghana film is dead, my heart bleeds. But how many people can you explain to? It started from the TV channels because they killed our industry,” she stressed.
Her comments reignite the long-standing debate about local content promotion and the need for stronger industry support systems to revive Ghana’s film industry.
