British High Commission To Support Ghana’s Movie Industry

Mr Iain Walker, the British High Commissioner to Ghana says he will give priority to the movie industry by creating more connections between industry players and famous Ghanaian actors based in the United Kingdom.

He noted that an effective collaboration to develop the movie industry and creative arts as a whole was going to play a pivotal role in the development of the country and, thus, was committed to support it to achieve these goals.

Mr Walker gave this assurance in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), on the sideline of the screening of a movie titled ‘Paddington 2’ at the Silverbird Cinemas in Accra.

In the cartoon movie, Paddington, the Bear is a fictional character in children's literature.

Paddington first appeared on 13 October 1958 in the children's book A Bear Called Paddington and has been featured in more than 20 books written by British author Michael Bond and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum and other artists.

In the movie, Paddington, the bear, settled in with the Brown Family.
Paddington is a popular member of the community who spreads joy and marmalade wherever he goes.

One fine day, he spots a pop-up book in an antique shop; the perfect present for his beloved aunt’s 100th birthday, when a thief steals the prized book, Paddington embarks on an epic quest to unmask the culprit before Aunt Lucy’s big celebration.

The movie inspires young people and as well teaches children of being polite and having good manners.

The High Commissioner said there was a huge number of Ghanaians in UK who were influencing and shaping society, not just about music and movies, however, the Ghanaian influence was real and wants to help make it grow further.

He again told GNA that the High Commission invited lots of schools to partake in the screening, adding that “one thing we want kids to understand is, togetherness is about friendship and that is actually what the UK and Ghana stands for”.

Mr Walker said the two countries shared common values and it was important we do not take those values for granted but rather build the friendship to become stronger in the future.

“I want to ensure that in my time here, we take the partnership to a higher level, but keep what is best about our history; a common set of values and shared view of how we engage with each other”, he added.