Award-winning filmmaker and director Leila Djansi has criticised the structural direction of the Ghanaian and Nigerian film industries, describing them as self-serving systems that prioritise individual gain over long-term creative growth.
In a late-night reflection shared after working across multiple time zones, Djansi said she observed a troubling pattern in both industries.
“The Ghanaian and Nigerian film industries have become structurally self-serving,” she stated.
She pointed to the dominance of individual YouTube platforms as evidence. “Every major player owning a plot of land on YouTube is evidence of this. Self-serving. Tribal-serving. Wealth-serving.”
According to Djansi, this structure has resulted in repetitive content driven by algorithms rather than artistic purpose.
“The result is repetitive genres optimised for algorithm survival, not cinematic longevity,” she said, adding, “Fast production. Fast turnover. No memory. No canon.”
She argued that such a system fails to build institutions or preserve creative heritage.
“That structure doesn’t build institutions, share libraries or lasting studios. It builds silos. That’s why they collapse inward.”
Djansi warned that without protection for craft, the industry will continue to decline. “There’s no protection for craft because it’s about individual survival. So the industries grow backward.”
