The Ghana Film Industry was on Wednesday, December 8th ”renamed” “Black Star Films”; a name that conflicts with an awards festival bearing nearly the same name and owned by the Executive Secretary of the National Film Authority, Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante!

In 2015, Juliet Asante established the Black Star International film festival as a PRIVATE NON PROFIT festival designed to bridge the gap between African movie cinema and the global community of movie makers and focuses on the business aspect of film making.

Re-naming the Ghanaian Film Industry (which never needed any renaming in the first place) after the BSIFF creates a Conflict of Interest and ethically questionable situation that guarantees the Black Star Int Film Festival becomes A NATIONAL ASSET owned by one individual and funded by the state! The tax payers money. 

This is wrong and must be condemned by all well meaning Industry players with all the contempt it deserves! 

We, the undersigned are by this petition imploring the offices of the Honourable Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture and his able Deputy and other bodies and agencies mandated to see to the concerns of the Ghanaian Film Industry to help right this wrong.

The legally recognized name for our film industry is the Ghana Film Industry. This has been well captured in all existing documents and DOES NOT need to be altered.

If the Industry needs a nickname whatsoever, let’s collectively settle on one that doesn’t surreptitiously surrender the Ghanaian Film Industry into the hands of one individual.