Veteran Ghanaian actor Kofi Adjorlolo has rejected claims that Nigeria’s Nollywood is responsible for the rise of Ghanaian movie stars, insisting that it was Ghana’s own film industry that nurtured and promoted its talent.
Speaking on The Real Talk Podcast with Elizabeth Essuman, Adjorlolo acknowledged the challenges facing Ghana’s film industry but highlighted that the sector continues to produce content consistently. According to him, what remains lacking is effective marketing and promotion.
“Ghana movie is not down; actors are acting daily, producers are producing daily, work is ongoing daily. Rather, it is the promotion and marketing that is lacking – and we’ve got to fix that area,” he said.
Responding to assertions that Nollywood was responsible for giving Ghanaian actors their fame, Adjorlolo was clear:
“Though the Ghana movie industry may be having its own problems, it does not mean Nigerians made us. Ghana Films made Ghanaian actors. The Ghana movie industry and the movies we produced made us popular before Nigerian producers noticed and called us.”
The veteran actor pointed to the era of “Ghallywood”, when Ghanaian cinema held a strong presence across Africa. He highlighted actors such as Majid Michel, Van Vicker, Jackie Appiah, John Dumelo, Juliet Ibrahim, Nadia Buari, and Yvonne Nelson as talents who established solid careers in Ghana before branching into Nigerian productions.
“Ghanaian actors earned their fame in their home country first,” Adjorlolo said, underscoring Ghana’s ability to cultivate and showcase its own stars.
While recognizing Nigeria’s strength in film marketing and business development, he insisted that Ghana deserves full credit for cultivating the talent that later found success beyond its borders.
Adjorlolo’s remarks reinforce the argument that Ghanaian cinema has a strong foundation and continues to produce world-class talent, with the key to further growth lying in promotion, marketing, and structured support for the local film industry.
