An airline refused to give us a plane after charging $5,000 – Lil Win reveals struggles faced by entertainment industry

Ghanaian actor and producer, Kwadwo Nkansah alias Lil Win, has shared details about the struggles faced by industry players in accessing locations for their shoots.

Speaking in an interview with Zion Felix, Lil Win detailed how an airline denied his production team the use of an airplane for a movie shoot, even after agreeing to pay a fee of $5,000.

“Let’s say you need the airport for a project. You will send letters and everything, but you will never be granted access. And when you are denied access and you compromise to shoot the movie, you will bitterly be criticized for not using the airport scene as it needed to be.”

“The reason why we were unable to feature the airport is that we even wanted to use an actual plane in the movie, and we were willing to pay. A fee of $3,000 was quoted for Kumasi and $5,000 for Accra. We were willing to pay, but the airline refused,” he shared.

According to the award-winning actor, movie producers are unfairly criticized for producing mediocre content, while they are compelled to improvise.

“I don’t understand it when the movie comes out and they criticize us that it is not nice. If we were given access to the plane, we would have landed it nicely in the movie. But we don’t get it; you want a police station for a shoot, you won’t be given; military uniform, you will not get it; you request access to a hospital for a shoot, and you are equally denied. Meanwhile, the story requires that you feature the hospital, airport, or police station to complete the story,” he bemoaned.

He added that the situation in Nigeria is not the same, as the country boasts a more supportive and enabling industry. More sadly, he emphasized that producers in Ghana are denied access even when they are willing to pay.

Players in the entertainment industry, mostly YouTubers, have been voicing their struggles in the industry following an altercation between popular skit maker Dr. Likee and security officers at the Achimota Mall.

The popular comedy skit maker was prevented from shooting a video at the mall on the grounds of not obtaining appropriate permission.

Several players in the industry, including Ghana’s biggest YouTuber, Wode Maya, have condemned the incident captured in a viral video.

“Is there any other continent apart from Africa that you need to ask for permission to shoot a video around a shopping mall, train station, airport, and so-called public areas? When I was based in China, I literally filmed everywhere, and sometimes you even get paid to film in such areas… This village mentality needs to stop in 2023!” he stated in a tweet.

“It’s about time content creators in Africa unite and speak against harassment while filming in public areas… The new digital media is here, and you all should get used to it,” he said in a subsequent post.