Movies of Tuesday, 12 August 2014

Source: News One

I Don’t Make Movies For Upper Class Folks -Frank Rajah Arase

Filmmaker, Frank Rajah Arase, has revealed some of his marketing secrets in the film industry, saying he doesn’t target the upper class in society when he produces or directs.

The Nigerian-born Ghanaian director, who is known for his movies such as 'Beyonce', 'The President’s Daughter', 'Somewhere In Africa', 'Cheaters' and 'Iyorie' among others, says it is because the upper class doesn’t patronise local movies.

“They don’t buy CDs. They are those who have DSTVs in their homes and watch all kinds of programmes and Hollywood movies. They don’t buy movies,” he told Trailer TV on GhOne TV on Sunday.

However, he added that they prefer to attend movie premieres, purposely to take photos with stars and post them on social media for various reasons.

According to Frank, one of the basic marketing strategies for him in the movie business was to know his target audience and serve their interest.

He said he had always targeted the middle class to get the attention of the lower class.

The lower class, who makeup the majority, he said, buy movies to watch at home though they may not patronise movie premieres or the cinemas.

Frank’s efforts contributed greatly to what is now called Ghana’s movie industry. He directed a number of Ghanaian and Nigerian movies.

His latest film, Iyore, got several nominations for the upcoming Golden Icons Academy Movie Awards (GIAMA) in USA in the categories; Best Motion Picture, Best On-Screen Duo, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director.

The rest of the categories included Producer of the Year, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Costume and Best Makeup.