Accra, July 27, GNA - An arts award programme aimed at promoting and marketing locally-produced films was on Thursday launched in Accra with a call on all players to use the film industry to promote Ghanaian culture.

Mr Kojo Armah, Member of Parliament for Evalue Gwira in the Western Region, who made the call, said the film industry had proved to be a very powerful avenue through which culture could be sold to the outside world.

Expressing concern over how Ghanaian culture had been adulterated by foreign films, which were frequently shown on all the television stations, Mr Armah said all efforts must be made to inject life into the local-produced films to promote the country's culture as well gain economic benefits from them.

The awards ceremony, dubbed: "The Ghana Screen Arts Awards" scheduled for December 30, 2006 is a concept developed by RTG Marketing Agency to reward excellence in the screen arts.

Mr Ricahrd Twum-Gyamra, Chief Executive Director of the Agency, who together with the MP launched the GSA-Award, explained to the GNA that the programme had been instituted to recognize local Ghanaian feature and documentary films; local Ghanaian music clips and local Ghanaian television productions including drama, soaps, talk shows and advertisements.

He said the Award, to be held annually, was the Agency's meagre contribution to promoting the local film industry, which was gradually being swallowed up by foreign ones.

"Less than 10 per cent of Ghanaian films are shown in Ghana and Africa as a whole."

Mr Twum-Gyamera said there would be 22 categories for the 2006 Awards - best overall actor; best male and female actors; best director; best movie sound track; best documentary; best script writer; best producer; best scenery; best costume; best music clip and best producer, among others.

He said as part of the Awards, a special section of an international acknowledgement award would be given to one organisation or individual from any part of the world, especially Africa, who had had tremendous impact on the screen-art industry in Ghana.

Mr Twum-Gyamra announced that entry for any of the categories, specifying the category being registered for, should be sent to the organizers with a registration fee of 50,000 cedis by September 4 2006. A panel of 13 experienced persons making an adjudicating team would consider film productions and programmes produced from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006.

Winners would receive a specially designed brace trophy; money; fully connected mobile phones and television sets.