NAFTI to promote its audiovisuals
Accra (Greater Accra) 02 April 2001
The Director of National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI), Mr Martin Loh, on Friday said steps are being taken to produce Ghanaian films without sub-titles for the benefit of foreign audience.
The production would be done with the support from the French Embassy. For a start, some teachers from NAFTI would soon go to Durban to study Video production in order to produce Ghanaian films in foreign languages for use by non-English speaking countries without sub-titles, citing Esmeralda as an example.
Mr Loh made this known to the GNA after the French Ambassador presented books on film making to the institute in Accra.
The move he noted is to make understanding of the Ghanaian film easier since non-English speaking audiences find it difficult to read because they move fast.
He said this support came as a follow up to a discussion he held with the French Ambassador to assist the institution upgrade its facilities and the qualification of its teachers to meet international standards.
The books valued at 12 million cedis include Digital Video in Camerawork, Animation techniques, Magills Survey of Cinema and Film and Video making.
Mr Loh said since NAFTI is the only major film and television training institute in the sub-Saharan Africa, it is important to identify closely with its television industry and film video culture.
Mr Denis Decraene said France is interested in the promotion of cinema professionals not only in Ghana but the whole of West Africa.
He said it would soon come into co-operation with Burkina Faso in the area of cinema production.
He said France would continue to support NAFTI to upgrade its skills.
GRi../
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Winneba (Central Region) 02 April
2001
The Chiefs and people of the
Effutu Traditional Area will celebrate their Annual Aboakyer festival between
April 30 and May 6.
The Celebration of this year's
Aboakyer, which has been dubbed the "New Millennium Festival",
reaches its climax on Saturday May 5, with the Deer Hunt and a durbar of
chiefs.
Neenyi Ghartey Vii, Omanhene of
Effutu Traditional Area who announced this at a Press Conference at Winneba on
Saturday said the prerogative for fixing a date for the festival is a customary
right of the Paramount Chief.
He said the activities of the
festival will begin from Monday, April 30 and will include as usual, Regatta,
Cross Country Race and Football Matches.
Neenyi Ghartey cautioned the media
to be circumspect in handling pronouncement from the public to ward off the
nasty experiences of the past years, adding
"try to cross check all information before use, our doors are
always open."
"Over the past four years the
then government sought to direct the celebration in its own style. While we
live in peace throughout the year, around this time each year events are coined
to appear as if we were fighting a war," the Omanhene said.
He said the funniest incident
happened last year, when the Regional Co-ordinating Director and the Regional
Security Council (REGSEC) had to give a security clearance for the celebration
of Aboakyer 2000.
Neenyi Ghartey stressed that
through sheer mischief and political manipulations the police and the Ministry
of Communications on the evening preceding the festival succeeded in halting
the celebrations mid-stream.
He said this was in clear
violation of the tenets of the constitutional provisions and Acts 491 of 1994
on the holding of public events in this country.
The Omanhene bemoaned the
activities of the then IGP who himself was at Winneba that Saturday to verify
the messages he was receiving, but later called from Tamale ordering a probe
into the confusion his outfit had assisted in creating.
He explained that there is no
legal challenge for the Effutu Paramouncy in any court. "The adversaries
employed scar mongering techniques that made the previous government buy their
arguments."
Neenyi Ghartey said as loyal, law
abiding and peace-loving citizens, the people of Winneba will not mortgage the
Effutu Paramouncy for any political interests.
The Omanhene said the people of
Effutu traditional Area would use the festival to contribute towards the
attainment of the objectives of this country to make tourism a major foreign
exchange earner.
Neenyi Ghartey appealed to all,
Effutu citizens outside Winneba and all Ghanaians in general to witness this
year's festival.
GRi../
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