Aside Kumawood, There is Vollywood and Tallywood – Is Ghana’s Movie Industry Turning into Tribal Play?

GhanaCelebrities.Com’s investigation has uncovered two other movie industry names in Ghana known as Vollywood and Tallywood.

Vollywood is the name of the movie industry for filmmakers in the Volta region of Ghana or the name of films produced largely in the Eve language or people of Ewe descent. Just as Kumawood or sometimes called Twi speaking movies are produced in Kumasi and its neighbouring villages, Vollywood movies are produced in the Volta region of Ghana, precisely, Adaklu.

Unlike Kumawood movies which are mostly comedy, Vollywood movies narrates true but untold stories of the people of Ewe lineage and general storylines about life. Vollywood movies contain 100% dialogue in Eve with subtitles.

They are largely marketed in areas such as Hohoe, Ho, Aflao, Adaklu, Togo, Peki, Kumasi, Accra and some part of the North.

Putting our ears on the ground and speaking to few VCD (movies) sellers, GhanaCelebrities.Com’s gathered that the Vollywood movies are not that popular because the filmmakers don’t publicize or advertise much. However, those who know Vollywood movies love them and patronize them a lot!

Already, names such as Harriet Odonu, Sheila Nyavor and others are few names of characters we discovered in Vollywood as the emerging stars of the industry.

Our investigation also revealed that whilst some filmmakers in Vollywood intend to make their own stars just as Kumawood has done with names such as: Agya Koo, Kwaku Manu, Mercy Asiedu, Kyeiwaa, and others, some filmmakers in Vollywood rather use already made film stars who are Ewes or of Voltarian descent.

Names GhanaCelebrities.Com gathered includes:Kofi Adjorlolo, Gavivina Tamakloe, Eunice Banini and Akorfa Asiedu Adjani – all Voltarians, as casts for a Vollywood movie yet to be distributed unto the movie market.

As to who actually coined the name – Vollywood, it is not yet clear who did. It is rumoured that one Mr. Winfred Fayose once claimed to be the brain behind the name. Then again is Tallywood – name for movies largely produced in Tamale or in Northern language dialects; according to our investigations, is also crawling to become a household name.

In an interview with President of the Film Producers Association of Ghana FIPAG, Mr. Hackman Asare, he disclosed to GhanaCelebrities.Com that filmmakers in Tamale – Tallywood recently sent the association a formal letter, requesting to have a FIPAG chapter in Tamale.

Kumawood is to the Akan or Twi speaking tribe; Vollywood is to the Eve speaking tribe; Tallywood is to the Northern tribes who speak Dagbani, Sisala, Gomja, etc. Do we need this faction names in or for our movie industry? Are these faction names important at all?

Is it not a way of deepening the deadly pangs of tribalism in our society? Why can’t we brand Ghana’s movie industry with one name – Ghollywood as the President of FIPAG once suggested? Until then….MOTWUM!!