Where are these veterans?
THE Ghana movie industry has grown
over the years. It has made significant strides despite its many challenges.
Currently,
the industry boasts a new crop of actors who are going international. We all
agree to give honour to whom honour is due, so there is the need to acknowledge
the pacesetters in this industry.
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| Kofi Bucknor |
Acknowledgement could come in the form of
awards, a pat on the back or even a callback of these pacesetters to teach the
new generation some of the nitty-gritty of the industry or useful lessons.
This piece,
therefore, is first of all, a call for the return of our veterans onto our
screens and, second, a clarion call for them to be honoured, for they deserve
it.
An impressive list of actors and
actresses
I grew up
watching the likes of Regina Pornotey, Monica Quacopoome, Victor Lutterodt, Mac
Jordan Amartey, Kofi Bucknor, Kofi Middenton-Mends, Professor Martin Owusu, Brew
Riverson Jnr, Grace Nortey, Grace Omaboe (Maame Dokono), Omanza Shaw, David
Dontoh, Akorfa Edjeani-Asiedu, Sheila Nortey, Edinam Atatsi, Mawuli Semevor,
Mary Yirenkyi, Nat Banini, Eunice Banini, Adjoa Pieterson, Kojo Demanya, George
Williams, Dzifa Gomashie, and Juliet Asante in African movies and TV theatres
of local entertainment content. The list goes on and on.
 |
| Brew Riverson Jnr |
I vividly recollect that in that era, African movies were a
delight to watch as they were only shown to us during Easter, Christmas and at times
on public holidays. In those days, families sat by their TV sets and those who
did not have, joined families who had.
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| George William |
Those were memorable family times! That
was the era when cinemas were making money. My unfailing memory reminds me of
the Picorna Cinema, Sid Theatre Cinemas, Orion Cinema, Gama Films, Vision 66
and many more.
For a movie lover like me and other viewers we were simply
satisfied with the movie trailers running on our screens and that was enough to
whet our appetite. We only prayed that a particular movie that delighted us would
be among the ones selected to be aired during the Yuletide.
 |
| Omar Hunter |
A sample of films of
yesteryear
Back then we had exciting movies like Step Dad,
Who Killed Nancy?, Harvest at 17, Suzzy, Ghost Tears, The Schemers, Twisted Fate,
Jennifer, Child at 6:30pm, A Stab in the Dark and Baby Thief gracing our screens. Those movies created excitement in
us and a level of pride as Ghanaians. We the children not only watched for the
fun of it all but also watched out for exciting “terms” that would later become
accolades among ourselves.
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| Mawuli Semevor |
There were times some of these movies were aired as late as
10:30 p.m., mainly after the late news. Of course GTV had monopoly at the time,
thanks to GAMA Films. The movies were aired around that time to prevent
children from watching as they either featured romantic or bloody scenes, which
GTV classified as unwholesome for children.
I must confess that my curiosity led me to pretend to be
asleep, not in the bedroom, but in the living room on one occasion and I
chanced to watch what could be termed Ghana’s version of a horror movie. It was
titled Matta: Our Missing Children.
If my memory serves me well, it featured Brew Riverson Jnr as
the main character and Alexandra Duah of blessed memory. Was it bloody and
scary! I could not sleep that night. Thus,
in pretending to be asleep when I wasn’t, I had bitten off more than I could
chew.
I also remember another one that was aired at night titled Sergent Abebrese. That also scared the hell out of me. One phrase I remember in that
particular one was “Aha ye abosom fie, yemfa mpaboa mma ha” (a Twi expression
meaning, This is a shrine and sandals are not allowed here). This statement was
made by Amanobea Dodoo, another wonderful actress (that is, if my memory serves
me well).
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Kofi Middleton-Mends
|
I vividly remember picking up lines like “do you know your father is
a criminal and your mother a trickster and your grandfather a ragamuffin
rascal? “I don’t trust you, the way your nose is shaking plierplier . . . like
that,” from a scene in a movie. This became a popular saying among we the children
who watched Nat Banini say this line.
In the old Ghanaian movie setting, I also vividly remember
Victor Lutterodt playing the stereotype role of a daft husband after either
molesting teenage girls or cheating on his wife. Grace Nortey and Maame Dokono played
the roles of mother very well. The interesting part of their roles was that
they always turned out as in-laws or co-tenants, who were always at each
other’s throat.
Omanza Shaw, Wakefield Ackuaku and Kwame Sefa Kayi were
always known for the playboy, rich young men who were always frolicking with
the young girls. Fred Amugi played the loving father who mostly put his family
in trouble. There is also old Mac Jordan Amartey, the quarrelsome landlord who
was always ejecting people from his house.
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Grace Omaboe
|
Impeccable English speaking Doris Sackitey played a subtle
role of the mother. The likes of Juliet Asante, Kalsoume Sinare, Akofa Edjeani-Asiedu
and Sheila Nortey did not mince words executing the bad girl roles. These and
many others whose names I can’t immediately remember were the stars the Ghana
movie industry created to entertain us in the ’90s.
A change in direction
Growing from the ’90s, we started seeing movie trailers
portraying Ghana-Nigeria collaborations. One of such that I remember quite well
was aired in the Christmas season. I seem to remember these movies because I
have always been interested in the arts right from adolescence. I kept these
particular movie trailers and the times in mind.
To my surprise I watched the supposed “Ghana-Nigeria collaborations”
that featured Kalsoume Sinare, Monalisa Chinda and Tricia Esigbe. They were
titled Marishika and the Visitor. In
truth, I was infuriated after watching the movies as I felt they were over
hyped and with no moral lessons. Both were movies about the underworld and the
quest for power and money. For me this
was the beginning of embracing the Ghana-Nigeria collaboration in the industry.
 |
Wakefield Ackwaku
|
It was a good innovation: Ghana is collaborating with Nigeria.
Why not? But little did we know that the competition was going to come with
many challenges for the industry. First, for some interesting reason, Nigerian
movie producers relocated to Ghana - the likes of Jake Aernam relocated to
Ghana. I kept wondering, Why the relocation? (Was it to hit the jackpot from an
industry that was young and vibrant?)
Next, they encouraged collaborations, perhaps a ploy adopted
to get the Nigerian movies aired on national television. Then came the blast; they
started airing Nigerian movie trailers on our screen and the sale of movies on VHS
increased, a venture that our then movie industry could not utilize to their
benefit as VHS was a preserve of the rich. The young Ghanaian industry aired
their movies continually at the cinemas, making money for them. The movies were
aired till everyone got a feel of the movies. Then the movies made their way unto
VHS and were later handed over to GTV to air to us the “unreached” viewers.
So now the sale of VHS became what I would call the big deal.
Gradually for the affluent who could afford VHS, they preferred the buying of
VHS to watching at cinemas. This development eventually became one of the factors
that hindered our cinema watching experience, not to talk of what the Nigerian collaborations
did to our young and vibrant industry. Anybody who closely watched the development
from afar would agree with me that for the then producers in the industry, movies
were not principally about money, but more about telling the African story the
Ghanaian way.
These and many other reasons I will surely highlight in my
subsequent write-up on the collapse of the once-vibrant cinemas in Ghana which
have now given way to movie houses.
The multi-million-dollar
question
Now to the all-important question that prompted the writing
of this article: Where are all these gorgeous, smart, intelligent actors and
actresses who graced our screens in the ’80s and ’90s? One could well answer
that death has snatched some away. Yes, indeed, some have passed away. But what
has become of those alive? Just where are they now? For me it’s an eyesore and,
with all due respect, an insult seeing the likes of Jackie Appiah or Yvonne Nelson
playing the role of a mother, not to talk about the role of grandmum. What a
struggle the new crop of actors have playing the role of a father!
Lest this be
misconstrued, I’m not saying they cannot play the role, but if for nothing at
all, just watch and learn how the likes of Patience Ozorkwor, Joke Silva, Olu
Jacob, Alex Usifo execute their motherly and fatherly roles with ease and a
touch of class.
In my research, I once interviewed Roger Quartey of RQ Productions
and posed this question as to where the veterans in the industry are. His response?
‘They are there but difficult to contact because their numbers are not readily
available. Second, my colleague producers want to use faces that will sell
their movies. Lastly, you would be
surprised to know that the older generation does not charge as much as the
younger ones do.
Roger Quartey’s response got me wondering, Do these old faces
really need a lot of PR work done for them or is it a case of a nation failing
to honour and recognize their efforts? As I wondered if there was a better way of
helping them build their PR, my thoughts faded off. I wondered how come David Dontoh, Akofa
Edjeani-Aseidu, Doris Sackitey, Kofi Bucknor, Omar Hunter and Fred Amugi have
enjoyed some movie presence in recent times? In the long run, then, it is not
about the veterans not doing their work well or not keeping in contact with the
current crop of producers.
In my search for answers, one thing crystallized: Whereas the
veterans would scrutinize a script thoroughly and would not entertain nude scenes,
this young crop of actors would readily accept any script and embrace even nude scenes. So here lies the difference!
About a year ago, veteran Grace Nortey complained bitterly
about how she had been neglected by the industry. I last read a report on old
Mac Jordan Amartey and Amanobea Dodoo who until recently had been involved in
lots of movies with the younger generation, to the effect that they have both
been ill and bedridden. Now the others like Regina Pornotey, Monica
Quarcopoome, Omanza Shaw, Victor Lutterodt, Brew Riverson Jnr, Edinam Atatsi,
Mawuli Semevor, Diana Gbartey, Agnes Dapaah, Prof. Martin Owusu, Grace Omaboe
and the many others whose names I can’t remember, where are they now and what will
it take to have them back on our screens?
It is said that a nation that does not honour its heroes is
not worth dying for. Believe it or not, these veterans are our heroes and
heroines in the industry. Most of us grew up watching and admiring them. Even
the new generation would attest to this fact.
I was one of those who
applauded the introduction of the Ghana Movie Awards into the industry. My
reason is simple: Such a move was long overdue. For reasons I would rather keep
to myself, I would not even want to delve into the categories or the awards.
My major concern here is why the event organizers decided to
honour Nigerians when we have these veteran actors with us here in Ghana. Do we
want them to die before we confer posthumous awards on them? Please let’s get
serious. This write-up reminds me of a
“free” piece of advice I gave to one of the organizers of the Ghana Movie
awards. I said: “So won’t you guys honour Mac Jordan, Kofi Bucknor, Omar Hunter and the
others before we lose them? The response was, “Oooo yea, you are right
and that is true.”
As someone who has a deep interest in the arts, I keenly
followed last year’s awards only to realize that my advice had not been heeded.
True to what we Ghanaians are best known for, the organizers conferred a
posthumous award on the late Prof. Kofi Awoonor.
Did he have to die before getting honoured? Have we sat down to think about how
the veterans feel now? Putting ourselves in their shoes might best answer that
question.
I would end this piece with a quote from the 16th
president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. He said: “Any nation that does not honor
its heroes will not long endure.” Need I explain further? How do we
intend sustaining this industry if its founders or heroes (for want of a better
word) are not honoured?
Let’s face it, these veterans set the tone and the foundation
for what we proudly boast of in the Ghana movie industry. What will it take to
make them feel honoured? I would end with a call on movie producers and stakeholders who are concerned about movies to
try and bring, if not all, at least a few of these faces back into the industry
and see if the industry will not bounce in remarkable strides in terms of
acting, language, script-writing, sanity and poise.
