Actress Gloria Sarfo has stated that the Ghanaian movie industry has blurred the lines between cinema and YouTube content, warning that not every movie is fit for the big screen.
She believes some of the Ghanaian movies shown in cinemas fall below standard and should have gone straight to YouTube instead.
Speaking on GhanaWeb’s X Space on September 12, 2025, Gloria made comparisons to the Nigerian movie industry, where producers have made a distinction between movies made for cinemas and those that are released on YouTube.
She explained that this system of categorisation has helped Nigeria build an industry that caters to different audiences while also maintaining high standards.
Gloria added that implementing a similar model would be advantageous for Ghana. She argued that one of the industry’s challenges is the lack of structure in determining which movies should be placed on streaming platforms and which are worthy of cinema premieres.
In her view, this shortfall affects Ghana’s ability to meet international standards and compete in the global market.
She further mentioned that in many cases, the kind of movies other countries upload to YouTube are the ones being premiered in Ghanaian cinemas.
Gloria Sarfo made an appeal to stakeholders to start making those distinctions, stating that it is the only way Ghanaian movie can meet the global market.
“I always make reference to Nigerians, and people are sometimes not happy. But one thing I know is, they have their movies that go on YouTube. They have their YouTube movies; they have their cinema movies. I think if we adapt that, it will help, because not every movie is supposed to be on YouTube and not every movie is supposed to be in the cinemas.
“But here in Ghana, some movies that other countries take to YouTube are what we are taking to the cinemas. Let’s be frank… some of the movies that are taken to the cinemas are just mind-blowing. I’m like, ‘Hello, should this really be a cinema movie?’
“We should be able to differentiate, so that we know not every movie should be taken to the cinema. Until we get to know that, we can’t meet the global market,” she stated.
Source: Ghanaweb.com
