Accra, July 15, GNA - The Ministry of Information is to develop its office block near Kanda Estate into a National Film and Exhibition Centre (NAFEC) for film producers and artists.

The centre would comprise a theatre, studios, car park, club house, offices and meeting halls, Mr Ahmed Baba Jamal, a Deputy Minister of Information, said on Friday.

He was speaking at a meeting with Film Producers, Marketers and Distributors in Accra to discuss the way forward and highlight some of the problems facing the industry.

Mr Baba Jamal said the Ministry had received proposals from two private companies which wanted to partner them in developing the area. He said the Ministry was also renovating one office in the ministry for the film industry to serve as an anchor for the players in the industry.

The Deputy Minister said the government was interested in assisting stakeholders in the industry grow their businesses and would continue to give direction to that effect. "We know that we have the talents right here with us and if given the chance and the necessary support you can perform more than your counterparts in other countries," he said.

The Deputy Minister noted that producing a film was not just to entertain or put a group of people together to act. "It is about business and you must produce a star that can compete internationally and that is what the Ministry is going to assist you to achieve."

The meeting agreed to increase the fee that producers pay for previewing from GH¢50 to GH¢150 per a Ghanaian film for a period of three years and from GH¢100 to GH¢250 for foreign films from January 2012.

The increase, Mr Baba Jamal said, would assist the Board to increase the number of the previewing panel from two to five people, so that at least three people would sit and preview and when there is a protest the five would sit to resolve it.

He said the money would go back to the industry to sensitize members and also help them have a proper previewing board. Mr Baba Jamal also announced that henceforth, producers would be asked to provide their registration certificates from the Registrar General's Department and the Film Industry and posters that would go into the advert before their films were previewed. This, he said, would ensure that all producers were legally registered and were doing the right thing.

On the New Film Bill, the Deputy Minister said, it was still at the Attorney General's Department and suggested a workshop to discuss it and in cooperate stakeholders' inputs and suggestions in the final document.

Mr Baba Jamal stressed the need for film producers to be creative in their profession to avoid hurting other members of the public. "You're free to talk about anything legal but you must try to be creative when it comes to your story line," he said. Mr Asare Hackman, president of Hacky Holding Company and a member of the Film Board, said NAFEC would boost their efforts and the industry as whole.

He said the only 91thing' killing the film industry was piracy and appealed to the government to assist them clamp down on the gangs perpetrating the act. 15 July 11