Barely five months after inaugurating a viewing centre at the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI), the French Embassy has donated 100 African and French film classics to NAFTI, as a seed to start developing a database of films to be stored on the centralised and networked viewing system.

The films were presented to the Institute by Mr. Frederic Clavier, the French Ambassador to Ghana at a ceremony held on April 19, 2012 at the NAFTI Hostel.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Frederic Clavier said the donation of the film classics will serve as a new landmark in the fruitful cooperation between NAFTI and the French. This, he said, is geared at a movement of excellence in the film industry in Ghana as NAFTI is an excellent film training institution.

“This is the first delivery from Paris to feed the database of the viewing centre and it is our contribution to celebrate NAFTI’s work in Ghana and Africa as a whole”, said Mr. Clavier.

The French Ambassador to Ghana further stated that the French will continue to play a role in NAFTI’s film training programme whenever possible. Mr. Clavier took the opportunity to announce to all present that, the French are providing a key resource person to assist in NAFTI’s new Broadcast Journalism Programme.

Prof. Linus Abraham, Rector of NAFTI, accepted the donation on behalf of the Institute and assured Mr. Frederic Clavier that, the films will be put to good use in making NAFTI a centre of excellence in film and television training in Africa and the world.

“The viewing centre, which the French so generously established for NAFTI and its database, will make possible the systematic collection and documentation of, not only Ghanaian films, but also African film classics, worthy of emulation, which our students should be exposed to and can learn from. The developed database of films will also facilitate research into Ghanaian and African films”, said Prof. Linus Abraham.

According to Prof. Abraham, “NAFTI has been through some difficult times, but we have survived because of the great support provided by some of our friends, who have recognised the importance of NAFTI as a training institution in film and TV to the continent of Africa. The French Embassy, I am very proud to say, has been one of our greatest benefactors”.

Hon. Fritz Baffour, the Minister of Information, who was also present at the ceremony, acknowledged the support of the French towards media development in Ghana. The Minister expressed gratitude to the French Ambassador for supporting NAFTI especially when dwindling funding for the Institute, could have led to the folding up of the school.

Hon. Fritz Baffour however made an appeal to the French on behalf of NAFTI. According to the Minister of Information, “The Broadcast Journalism Programme drawn up by the Institute includes training in both radio and television journalism. While NAFTI has the facilities for training in television, the Institute does not have the facilities for radio. We therefore make this urgent appeal to the French Ambassador for help in purchasing and installing radio training facilities as part of NAFTI’s new Broadcast Journalism Programme, which the French are already supporting through a grant of €20,000 for training of trainers for the programme”.

The Honourable Minister further stated that the Ministry of Information is doing all it can to get the necessary funding for NAFTI, by forwarding the PPP document to Cabinet and pushing for its approval.