Filmmaker and Chief Executive Officer of Liezer-Legacy Productions, Louis Lamis, has called on the government to create more enabling environments for young creatives to thrive.
Speaking at the 2024 Level UP seminar, Lamis explained that, the industry has faced numerous unfulfilled promises from governments.
“I think the government hasn’t been fair to the creative industry,” he said. “They rely on us to communicate serious policies they want; they rely on creatives to do their campaigns.”
“If you’ve observed, in past elections, the strongest points for campaigns have been their songs. Yet, what are they doing to create the kind of environment to ensure that these creatives thrive?”
“I think we’ve had a lot of promises. They have failed us all,” Lamis added.
Level UP is an annual seminar organized by the ASOR mentoring network to empower Ghanaian youth. The not-for-profit organization offers coaching and mentoring, fostering a community where ideas and knowledge are shared to help young individuals explore options for building successful lives and achieving their dreams.
Lamis also discussed how the government can support the creative ecosystem and the difficulties creators face.
“It’s an ecosystem,” he explained. “You can’t pick one element in the structure and try to enhance it; you must start from the ground. If you’re focusing on filmmaking, you must start with writers. What institutions are training our writers? How well are they prepared? When they write, who is there to turn their work into a film or a stage play?”
“Are there auditoriums or cinemas for these productions to be premiered? Are there platforms for them to be streamed? My mother wouldn’t like to go to Netflix to watch a movie because she wouldn’t understand the complexities or the kind of movies there. But would my mother love the movies made in Ghana? Yes. Where will she get them? That’s a difficulty. If you put it on YouTube, someone might pull it down, cut it into pieces, and make money from it.”
“So, copyright laws aren’t being enforced. Royalty systems aren’t strong in Ghana. Creators aren’t protected by the law,” said Lamis.
Founder of the ASOR mentoring network, Dr. Shalom Addo-Danso, observed that the youth struggle in identifying areas they can contribute to when considering graduate studies.
“Through our interactions with the participants, we’ve noticed that there are some missing links and gaps in their understanding of preparing for graduate studies, especially in terms of conceptualizing what they want to do,” he said. “Building up your problem and filling a gap is important. So, I think it’s essential for our students to understand the concepts they’re being taught so they can build upon them going forward.”
Chief Executive Officer of YAISL’s Kitchen, Ms. Adwoa Pomaa Danquah, encouraged the youth to adopt soft skills that can help sustain them after school.
“After school, everyone is looking up to leadership for employment. So, when we’re not employed, it becomes a problem because we believe our government has failed us. We’re urging graduates to get something going. Learn a basic skill,” she said.