Ghanaian actress, Yvonne Okyere, says some Ghanaian movies can match up to the required standard to win international awards.
No Ghanaian movie has won the Oscars, which is deemed to be the most prestigious awards event in movies. But according to the award-winning actress, Ghanaian directors and producers have now upped their game and are churning out fantastic movies.
Yvonne made the comments during an interview on ‘The Red Carpet’ on Radio GIJ. Having been off the silver screen for years, she resurfaced in 2014 to star in ‘Love Regardless’ and won the Most Promising Actress award at the 2015 Golden Movie [Awards].
Although she hailed the quality of movies currently coming out of Ghana, Yvonne was quick to add that there is room for improvement. “I’m so glad that we have moved away from where we were, we’ve learnt, we’re building on, and there’s still more to come.” She continued “I’m really excited about our industry…obviously, there‘s always room for improvement, but we are at a very good place.”
Yvonne however cited the current economic challenges in the country and their effect on the movie industry. According to her, the hardship being experienced in the country presently is deterring sponsors and corporate bodies from investing in movie production. “The problem is that once you have a project, you need as many sponsors as possible. The issue is we are all in a bad economic time, so not a lot of people come on board. Some are lucky to get people (investors) on board, or corporate entities that sponsor them.” She added that a movie production gets better when more sponsors support it. This, she said, is “because you don’t cut back, you don’t cut corners, you go full force to give the best you can.” She therefore advised Ghanaian movie producers not to cut corners but go all nine yards.
Meanwhile, Yvonne Okyere is working on an upcoming project to support disabled children. The actress, who hails from Kibi in the Eastern Region, is on a campaign to raise funds and support for the children in Kibi School for the Deaf. The project, which is close to her heart, is focused on providing food, water, and other basic assistance to the disabled children in the school. “At the moment, we are focusing on the school for the deaf and mute. It is unfortunate that these children are going through very difficult times because they did not ask for their disability.
“These children have a lot more tragic stories that being a lawyer and being an actress, have given me the platform to be able to deal or assist with some of these issues,” Yvonne noted. She further explained that the project will be called ‘The Forgotten’ because sometimes, little is done to support these disabled children and they are easily abandoned and forgotten by family members or guardians and society as economic burden. She however added that she is hopeful that the campaign will positively affect the lives of many children.
Yvonne is busily working on her project and reviewing scripts. She noted that with every script she receives, she has to read it over and over again. However, when the script is very good, she falls in love with the character within few minutes of reading. “If I don’t bond with my character on page, I won’t bond with it on screen,” she added.
