FOR a long time Ghallywood has been  used as the brand name for the Ghanaian movie industry but on July 12, at the Ghana 60 Years On Film Summit, held at the Accra International Conference Centre, some stakeholders said the industry had been renamed Gollywood.

This name change, spearheaded by the President of the Film Directors Guild of Ghana (FDDG), Richard Boateng was met with stiff opposition from players.

Filmmakers like Kwaku Sintim Misa (KSM) and Leila Djansi expressed their disgust at the name Gollywood while a number of groups in the movie industry also issued a statement distancing themselves from the new name insisting they were not consulted.

Now the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is speaking on the matter and Deputy Minister, Dr Ziblim Barri Iddi says his outfit has not endorsed the name.

Speaking to Showbiz at the 2018 edition of the African Magic Viewer’s Choice Awards in Lagos, Nigeria on Saturday, September 1, the Minister explained that the renaming was the initiative of a private body with no input from the Ministry.

“The way the name Gollywood came, the ministry was not really at the forefront, it was not at the ministry level. Ghana is a free country which allows people form groups and when it is done properly, they have the right to do things.

“The group came together and got that name; the ministry can only come in if only a proposed name goes through Parliament, a law is passed and a common name is approved. As we all know it was not the minister or me who announced it,” stated.

He continued that “When the name Gollywood was announced, we had a lot of concerns, a lot of protests, not from the ministry but from the industry players and it was a cause for us to worry. We have not endorsed any name.

“Look there are lots of splinter groups in the creative industry and it is not healthy for the sector. From what we gathered, the group that came up with the name is a splinter group and not from the main one, Actors Guild.”

“We humbly ask that the groups come together and work things out, they should come up with something and advise the ministry but if they are scattered all over, I do not think it will help us in anyway,” he said.