A forum in Accra on the draft Film Development and Classification Bill has recommended a mandatory registration and licensing of foreign film producers by the Film Board before they begin operations in Ghana.

It also recommended the use of a percentage of local artistes in foreign productions and advocated a representation of essential stakeholders in the film industry on the Board, preferably under the aegis of the Ghana Academy of Film and Television Arts.

A statement from the Ministry of Information, signed by S. K Awadzi, Public Relations Officer, for the Sector Minister, said the forum participants also recommended a reduction in size of the regional and district inspection teams.

Among the stakeholders who attended the forum were officials from the Ministry, Attorney General's Department, and the Film Censorship Board the National Film and Television Institute and the Ghana Institute of Journalism.

They called for a reflection of a detailed representation on the composition of the various committees to be formed by the Film Board relating to their specific functions.

They also recommended a reduction in the size of the Board to a minimum of nine and a maximum of 13 to make it efficient and functional. “Appointment to the Board membership should be determined by their various expertise in film development, promotion, marketing, training research and classification," the panellists stressed.

They underlined other sources of generating revenue to feed the Film Fund so as not to add additional cost on the population and said there was the need for the credit components of the Ghana Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) to support the development and promotion of arts and culture.

Kofi Sakyiamah, Chief Director of the Ministry of Information, said the Ministry would always hold broad-based consultations to craft an all-embracing and sound bill. He said the forum was the last lap of an exercise that had been on the drawing board to get such a bill fashioned out and passed into law.

The draft bill, which provides amendments for the Cinematography Act 1961 (Act 76) seeks to ensure a sustainable development and promotion of the film industry in the country and also to position the film industry as an effective channel to expose Ghanaian cultural values.

Meanwhile, a Working Group, which was set up at the end of the public forum to assist the Attorney-General's Department to work on the final draft of the bill has taken a decision to incorporate the draft National Film Policy into the draft bill.

The draft bill has consequently been renamed the National Film Development Policy Act, 2003 to become a watertight document aimed at setting broad policy guidelines and regulations for effective film development and classification in the country.