Barbara Oteng Gyasi, Minister for Tourism, Arts And Culture has revealed that the Government of Ghana among other agencies partnered for the construction of the new Film Village has not settled on any site for the Film Village yet.

She said this to dismiss the claims by Creative Arts Forum in the Ashanti Region, particularly the members of the Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG) in Kumasi that the Film Village will be shifted from Kunsu in the Ahafo Ano South District to Sekyere in the Sekyere East District of the Ashanti Region.

The group, consisting of veteran FIPAG members the likes of Isaac Ofori Brempong (K. Obuorba Production), Mawuli Ekpe Peter (National FIPAG PRO), Nana Yaw Kusi (Nayak Films), Richard Sarkodie (Osoode Ventures), Joseph Serebour (Peace Films Production), Emmanuel Sarpong (Sards Multimedia Production), Abu Habib Banda (A.H Banda Film Production) threatened to go on strike if the Film Village was relocated. 

The Minister in a stakeholder meeting in Kumasi rubbished the plans for the strike by asking the members where they heard of a new venue from as the council had not settled on one yet. 

“A decision has not been taken yet on the exact site for the Film Village yet although we know it would be built in the Ashanti Region. We have so far been presented with three (3) sites including Hemang, Sekyere and Kunsu” she said.

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She assured the stakeholders of plans to reinforce the already existing film village in Kunsi to access the Ghana Tourism Development Project Fund for site developers to help them continue production ahead of the intended new project.

Madame Barbara Oten Gyasi addressed the meeting in that sense as members the Creative Forum Ashanti led by broadcaster Austine Woode had held a press conference last Wednesday, September 16, 2020, to register their displeasure over the relocation.

According to the members, they had already settled on the expansion of the film Village at Kunsu.

“This decision was reached because the Chief of Kunsu had already built a mini film village in his town and used for many movie productions like ‘Abuburo Kosua’ ‘Susu Pre’ and others that show on TV. Many industry practitioners also confirmed to us that many of the film projects from the Ashanti Region are done in the Ahafo Ano South District of Ghana that harbours Kunsu,”

This comes on the back of a petition that the group presented to Parliament on July 24, 2019, to change the initial location of the proposed film village by the Government of Ghana in the 2019 budget statement presented to Parliament by Ken Ofori-Atta from Eastern Region to Ashanti Region.