The President of the Liberia Movies Union (LIMU) Frank Artus, appeals to government to establish a Theater College at the state-run University of Liberia.He says actors and actresses are professional people and Acts is a profession compares to Accounting and other careers, noting that in order to do a professional job, you must be well trained and well qualified to be capable of performing up to the task.
He compares Liberian movies performance to other countries, pointing out that if Liberia should produce quality firms like Nigeria and Ghana, those interested must see it as a career and their focus should be acquiring formal trainings in order to produce the quality of movies at a standardized level.
The LIMU president also notes that performing or acting is a lucrative professional business, explaining that there are several people around the world today who have become millionaires through the profession.
“And if similar system is made practical in Liberia by establishing the necessary institutions, it will create more jobs for some young Liberians, improve their living standards and will also reduce the burden on the government in terms of providing job security for its citizens.” he explains.
Frank urges every Liberian to prioritize their own thing, instead of imitating foreigners. He says Liberian actors and actresses and performing artists should come under pressure to produce movies that depict Liberian culture, because he realized over the years Nigerians and Ghanaians have portrayed theirs.
He notes the advancements in Nigerian and Ghanaian movie industries as a result of promotion of their countries’ culture, which is why they are great in Africa when it comes to entertainment.
The Movies Union president stresses that they are working in line with the Motion Pictures Division of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to legitimize the market, especially, for distributors that no one should be allowed to sell or market any film without a legitimate documentation.
“If you don’t have right to sell any film that is produced internationally and locally, you cannot market it and if the market is cleared [of] illegal distributors and sellers, then Liberian film producers will benefit from their productions.”Artus asserts.
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He also adds that in order to keep this system effective, producers must produce quality films that would compete with productions from Nigeria and Ghana or else, their productions risk disqualification.By Ben P. Wesee–Editing by Jonathan Browne
