The Mayor of Accra, Elizabeth Kwatsoe Tawiah Sackey has appealed to stakeholders in the movie industry to consciously mentor the young and upcoming talents for a sustainable movie industry.
According to her, to create a generation of great actors who can sustain themselves in the industry, stakeholders must mentor upcoming talents.
The Mayor said this on Saturday, at the opening of the Spanish Film Festival held at the Omanye Aba Hall at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
The Spanish Film Festival which is being organized by the Embassy of Spain in Ghana in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture sought to revive the creative art industry, particularly the movie sector, and forge a mutually rewarding relationship between Ghana and Spain.
“I am so pleased that all of you have contributed to maintaining the film industry, and I believe that much more can be done… To assist us to create a generation of great actors who can sustain themselves in the industry, I implore you to continue to help perfect their craft and manage the affairs of the young stars coming up,” she said.
She expressed joy at efforts by key players in the filmmaking industry to improve the sector and stressed the need to leverage the existing relationship between Spain and Ghana to address through movies, issues of violent crime, climate change, youth unemployment, and irregular migration.
“I am also excited that the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and other relevant stakeholders who mattered in the value of the creative arts chain have all gathered here this evening to forge a closer alliance for the mutual development of our film industries, ”
She used the opportunity to call for collaboration between the two countries to project their cultural values whilst expressing the AMA’s readiness to work with the Spanish embassy to address developmental issues in the city of Accra.
Some personalities who graced the festival include the Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, as well as players in the Ghanaian movie industry among others.
The festival began on November 19 in Accra with the showing of a film titled Las Niñas (The Schoolgirls) and will travel to Kumasi and Tamale before coming to an end on Thursday, December 8.
Other films which will be screened include Yuli which shows tomorrow, November 25, at the Centre for National Culture(CNC), Kumasi at 6 pm, and on December 2, Alliance Francaise, Kumasi, will treat patrons to Un Novio Para Yasmina(A Boyfriend for Yasmina) at 5 pm.