Ameyaw Says
Dear Ghana Movie Awards, your statuette may look like the Oscars but you’re not the Oscars
I have read that in response to film maker, Leila Dajnsi’s claims that Joselyn Dumas was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting role for her performance in the ‘Northern Affair’ instead of a Leading Role, the Ghana Movie Awards organizers have quoted a purported Ghana Movie Awards guidelines akin to the Academy Awards (Oscars). […]
According to the Ghana Movie Awards organizers “like the Oscars and other big awards do, it is not the number of times a person appears in a movie or who the film-maker thinks is the lead that matters. But rather what the sitting committee members of GMA decide”.
Citing section 3 of Rule 6—Rules & Eligibility of the Oscars as a precedent, the organizers said “it is unfortunate that some people have failed to make the necessary enquiry before jumping into talking. Who is a lead or supporting in a movie is solely determined by the selected committee who ballot on this”.
This is where I advise that the Ghana Movie Awards sits up and address real issues being raised rather than painting a picture that the awards scheme is perfect. There are many issues that can be raised and probably I will at the right time. But for now I just want the organizers to know that the only similarities between Ghana Movie Awards and the Oscars is the likeness in their statuettes. Nothing more, nothing less.
This is what section 3 of Rule 6, Rules & Eligibility of the Oscars states: A performance by an actor or actress in any role shall be eligible for nomination either for the leading role or supporting role categories. If, however, all the dialogue has been dubbed by another actor, the performance shall not be eligible for award consideration. Singing that is dubbed will not affect the performer’s eligibility unless it constitutes the entire performance. The determination as to whether a role is a leading or supporting role shall be made individually by members of the branch at the time of balloting.
But what happened to Section 4 which says: The leading role and supporting role categories will be tabulated simultaneously. If any performance should receive votes in both categories, the achievement shall be placed only on the ballot in that category in which, during the tabulation process, it first receives the required number of votes to be nominated. In the event that the performance receives the numbers of votes required to be nominated in both categories simultaneously, the achievement shall be placed only on the ballot in that category in which it receives the greater percentage of the total votes.
In 2011, Majid Michel won Best Actor in a Lead Role, and Best Actor In a Supporting Role for his performance in the same movie, Somewhere in Africa. Of course I pointed it out in my article Ghana Movie Awards Top 5 Bloopers! Unless in 2011, the awards wasn’t aspiring to the the Oscars. There is no harm wanting to be like the Oscars, but if we want to be like the Oscars then we must be on all levels, put in the work, professionalism and resources that goes into it, and not just host an award ceremony for hosting sake!