By: Franklin ASARE-DONKOH
A Los Angeles-born entrepreneur enstooled as Mpuntuhene (Development Chief) of Akonoma in the Asebu Kingdom of the Central Region, Nana Dakrabo I has partnered with WEG Studios in Washington DC, musician and producer Koby Maxwell, actor Michael Blackson, and other notable people to construct a state-of-the-art film studio and production house, dubbed “Dakrabo 1 Studios” in Ghana.
Estimated to cost three hundred and fifty million dollars ($350 million), the state-of-the-art film studio will be on a 321-acre land in Ghana, making it the first of its kind in Africa.
The project, when completed will create thousands of jobs for Ghana’s entertainment industry.
Nana Dakrabo’s team is made up of leading industry executives, as well as architects, studio developers, entrepreneurs, executives, investors, and celebrities with aligned interests to make Ghana an entertainment hub in Africa.
Nana Dakrabo I feels it is time for Africans around the world to unite and invest in entertainment in Africa just like the rest of world have been enjoying.
Speaking to the media, Nana Dakrabo I explained that entertainment is his biggest passion. “I was born in Los Angeles and raised around celebrities and executives. Essentially, I was raised around Hollywood and now I will bring Hollywood to Ghana” he said.
Known in Private life as Michael B. Pratt, the entrepreneur said his vision is “to develop a Hollywood ecosystem in Ghana. Beyond the film studio, I want to see professionals in all creative industries realize their ‘Hollywood’ dreams without leaving the continent and to see a thriving entertainment industry, that attracts talent and attention from all over the world.”
With Nigeria’s Nollywood being the 2nd largest film industry in the world, producing over 2,500 films and employing over 300,000 people per year, there is an enormous opportunity to attract high quality and world-class productions to Ghana.
Koby Maxwell, a popular Nollywood Film Producer also added that “a film studio in Ghana will tremendously improve the industry with high-quality productions and it will unearth potential and opportunities for the whole world.”
The studio is poised to capitalize on the African film market, gaining a large share of productions from neighboring countries, while simultaneously attracting productions from around the world.
Once the campus is developed, Dakrabo 1 Studios will showcase seven (7) soundstages, a 240-acre backlot, a blue-screen water tank, a recording studio, pre/post-production facilities, screening theaters, a concert hall, office space, a hotel for cast and crews, and most importantly, a film & music school.
A Film & Music School
The initiators of the Dakrabo 1 Studios will create a space for creativity to thrive and give students hands-on training, in the classroom and the studio.
Nana Dakrabo I said “Our education and technology partners are working together to create an educational experience that allows industry-leading educators from Los Angeles to teach virtually in Ghana. It’s critical that aspiring professionals are properly trained on best practices and techniques directly from the industry’s practitioners. This will allow professionals to create content at a calibre that rivals a Hollywood blockbuster.”
Every building on the plot will be named after an influential African from around the world. This is Nana’s way of honouring trailblazers to indicate that the project will be possible because Africans around the world are uniting to move the continent forward.
Without a major production facility in Ghana, there is no potential to compete on the world stage in entertainment.
