LIBERIA, THE COUNTRY

Source: www.micatliberia.com/

Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d’Ivoire on the east. Liberia’s coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open to a plateau of drier grasslands. The country possesses 40% of the remaining Upper Guinean rainforest. Liberia has a hot equatorial climate, with significant rainfall during the May to October rainy season and harsh harmattan winds the remainder of the year. Liberia covers an area of 111,369 km2 (43,000 sq mi) and is home to about 3.7 million people. English is the official language, while over 30 indigenous languages are spoken within the country.

Along with Ethiopia, Liberia is one of the two modern countries in Sub-Saharan Africa without roots in the European colonization of Africa. Beginning in 1820, the region was colonized by freed American slaves with the help of the American Colonization Society, a private organisation that believed ex-slaves would have greater freedom and equality in Africa.

HISTORY OF FILMMAKING IN LIBERIA

Filmmaking in Liberia is still at its infancy. Frankly, there is no known evidence of a robust effort to establish a local film industry. Much of the early efforts were those of government, which commissioned specific films on a needs basis on presidential visits or other occasions considered of national importance. Many of the early documentaries were commissioned by the government and made by foreigners. Others were commissioned by private sector players like the large rubber plantation companies such as Firestone and B. F. Goodridge, or the mining companies such as Liberia Mining Company, Bong Mining Company or Liberia American Swedish Mining Company.

Later during the 60’s, the government of Liberia established the Audio-visual Division of the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs & Tourism (now the Ministry of Information, Tourism and Culture). The early documentary makers were Stanley Blay and Frank Forti. However, the subjects of these documentaries were overwhelmingly biased towards promoting government image and economic development, and so there was a heavy dose of footage on trade, commerce, political state events, and the international travels of the president.

The documentaries commissioned by government were often used in support of its international relations, as they were distributed through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its embassies worldwide. The private sector commissioned documentaries were stored in their headquarters with little exposure in Liberia, and no public access to them.

The result is that the power of the documentary medium has never been fully exploited in Liberia. Proper storage was always a problem, especially with the space requirements of the old reel-to-reel. Even the small u-matic formats required significant space and temperature conditions.

The 14-year civil war wreaked havoc on the development of the film industry in Liberia. The entire film library of the Liberia Broadcasting Service, custodian of the government-produced documentaries, was abandoned and left in the blazing sun and rain- drenched destroyed building of the LBS. It is rumored that many or all of the reel-to-reel and the videotapes were burned for lack of space. Fortunately, about 500 u-matic one-hour tapes were rescued by the Blamadon Center for the Arts (BCA) and funding for restoration and preservation of these tapes is being explored. When completed, the tapes will be stored in the digital archive section of the BCA and used as core material for weekly film/discussion series for students, teachers, researchers and the public.

Excerpt provided by James Emmanuel Roberts, former Deputy Minister of Education, Monrovia and documentary filmmaker.

THE FILM INDUSTRY IN LIBERIA

RESEARCH FINDINGS IN BRIEF

Liberia, like its neighboring country, Sierra Leone, has been through a civil war that left the country devastated and many of its historical artifacts destroyed.

The film industry is relatively young, but Liberian feature films are a common sight in capital city. Documentaries, however, do not seem to share the same platform. It is still a relatively unexplored area.

According to Elizabeth Hoff, the Deputy Minister of Technical Services, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, the civil war destroyed most of the country’s audio-visual archives.

James Emmanuel Roberts, former deputy minister of education and a documentary filmmaker, points out however, that some audio-visual tapes were reclaimed and are now archived at the Balmadon Center for the Arts in Monrovia.

Professional and Developmental Support:

There is little or no structure in the film industry in Liberia. There are no funds available for filmmakers from the government or private organisations and there are no film schools, government or private.

The film industry in Liberia is said to be regulated by the technical arm of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism — the Ministry of Technical Services Department. There is only one reported advocacy group in Liberia, called the Movie Union of Liberia. They do not have a website but media presence suggests that they have been active for the past 3 years. There are no film festivals in Liberia. There is mention of a copyright board that was appointed by the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in 2008. However they do not seem to be active.

The government-owned broadcasting station, Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS), does not commission content. Filmmakers have to pay for their work to be aired.

Distribution and audience cultivation:

Feature length films are distributed in the form of DVDs via street hawkers who are a common sight in Monrovia. There is only one functional cinema in the Capital city Monrovia: the Rivoli cinema.

Audience cultivation is through posters, banners, radio, TV adverts and bill boards. Documentary films are distributed via the internet (Facebook, My Space, YouTube). This is the primary means of distribution of documentaries as there are no film festivals in Liberia.

Legal Framework and regulatory environment

A representative from the Ministry of Information insists the government will have no objections if funding were to be brought in for filmmakers as long as it goes through proper government processing.

FILM FESTIVALS IN LIBERIA

There are no film festivals in Liberia.

QUALITATIVE STUDY

REGULATORY BODIES FOR FILM IN LIBERIA 

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION, TOURISM AND CULTURE LIBERIA

Purpose and Overview of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism

The Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism hereafter referenced as “MICAT” was created by an Act of Legislature in 1965 and subsequently reorganised under Decrees 46 and 47 of the People’s Redemption Council (PRC).

MICAT is statutorily charged with the responsibility to develop and disseminate factual information about Liberia’s culture and tourism at home and abroad. The MICAT is also tasked to promote Cultural and Tourism activities through various cultural and traditional dances, artistic and historic exhibitions on display at the National Museum, as well as through the development of tourism or touristic sites such as the Providence Islam and many more.

MICAT is comprised of five main programmes which are:

• Technical Services,
• Information Services,
• Cultural Affairs and Tourism,
• Administration/Management and Foreign Mission

These various programmes have bureaus or divisions that coherently coordinate the day-to-day running of the entire MICAT.

In fulfilling its mandate, the MICAT disseminates government policies and programmes through its regular Thursday Press Briefing, Press Releases, Radio and Television Talk Shows, Community Outreach, Audio and Television, Graphics and Billboards, the Internet, the New Liberia Newspaper (the official publication that comes out of the MICAT), and many other non- conventional means of reaching the general public.

The Technical Services Department is the technical arm of the ministry headed by the Deputy Minister for Technical Services, Mr. Robert W. Kpadeh.

Deputy Minister of Technical Services Department of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism Hon. Rixck Barsigiah.

This department is divided into several main pro- grammes that are named below:

• Liberia News Agency (LINA)
• Central Printing Incorporated (CPI)
• Technical Services/Utilization
• Motion pictures Review Division
• National Communication Bureau

THE LIBERIA BROADCASTING SYSTEM (LBS)

About the Liberia Broadcasting System

The Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS) is a state- owned radio network in Liberia. Founded as the Eternal Love Broadcasting Corporation in 1960, the network was owned and operated by Rediffusion, London until 1968, when management passed to the Government of Liberia. The network began broadcasting television as the Liberia Broadcasting Corporation in 1964.

Following the 1980 coup, the newly formed People’s Redemption Council gave the network its current name. As a result of the First Liberian Civil War, the company ceased broadcasting in 1990, and the network’s premises were heavily damaged by war and looters over the next seven years.

Following the end of the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003, the network began providing radio broadcasts, though the lack of proper equipment limited the broadcasts to a sixty-mile radius around Monrovia.

In 2008, the Chinese government installed a new 10kW FM transmitter, along with several secondary transmitters throughout the country, which extended the network nationwide. Additionally, there are plans to reestablish a television service for the Monrovia area.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org

MEDIA REPORTS ON ACTIVITIES OF THE LIBERIAN BROADCASTING SYSTEM (LBS)

LIBERIA BROADCASTING SYSTEM (LBS) GOES NATIONWIDE

19th November 2008

LIBERIAN AMBASSADOR CONMANY WESSEH AND CHINESE AMBASSADOR H.E. ZHOU YUXIAO REPRESENTED THEIR RESPECTIVE GOVERNMENTS AT THE MOU SIGNING

Monrovia, Liberia — The Government of the People’s Republic of China has turned over to the Liberian Government newly renovated and expanded facilities of the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS). Wednesday’s ceremony also marked the formal launch of the China/LBS Radio Project, under which the Chinese Government has provided a 10-thousand kilowatt FM transmitter to boost the station’s radio transmission throughout the country. A second transmitter has also been provided by the Chinese to relay English programmes produced by China Radio International throughout Liberia. The transmission will also provide three hours of radio programming in Chinese.

Speaking at the turning over programme, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf lauded the growing partnership between the Governments of China and Liberia. The President acknowledged the constructive role China continues to play in all areas of Government’s development under the country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, otherwise known as ‘Lift Liberia’. China’s decision to expand the broadcast facilities of the country, said the President, could not have come at a better time given the ever increasing need to adequately inform Liberians of the progress taking place in the country. The President also lauded the management of LBS for its leadership role and partnership with Chinese experts in ensuring the completion of the project.

Source: http://www.emansion.gov.lr/press.php?news_ id=950 

KROMAH HITS THE GROUND RUNNING

4 October 2011

Free speech, underpinned by free, unhindered access to information, advocates of pluralistic democracy say, is the foundation of a free, progressive society. Postwar Liberia’s political dispensation promises just this, but with the current limitation placed on the nation’s radio and television services, some say Liberia has a long way to go towards achieving a “progressive society status”. Now, it seems the Liberian adage, “Every disappointment is a blessing”, seems to hold true for the nation’s communication sector, given what is unfolding at the Liberia Broadcasting System (LBS). The Analyst, reports.

Barely a week after “rescuing” the Liberian Broadcasting System (LBS), amidst controversy, the system’s acting managing director, Professor Alhaji G. V. Kromah, has reportedly embarked upon a process that will extend and improve radio signals to rural Liberia. The Analyst learned yesterday that the management, under Mr. Kromah, has begun reactivating the system’s rural transmitters to begin broadcasting to parts of rural Liberia that were hitherto off-limit to radio signals. According to LBS Acting Director-General, Professor Alhaji Kromah, the management, by last weekend, completed the reactivation of one of the three inactive transmitters, which is situated in the provincial city of Zwedru in southeastern Grand Gedeh County.

The reactivation of the Zwedru transmitter, he said, prepared the system to cover most of the Southeast, which includes Maryland, Grand Gedeh, Grand Kru, River Gee, and Sinoe counties. The new LBS boss, who returned to the capital from inspection of LBS facilities in Bong and Lofa counties yesterday, disclosed that management was also considering reactivating the Maryland County transmitter to boost radio signals to the Southeast.

He disclosed that the Lofa County transmitter, now near completion, would begin full relay of LBS broadcasts by this weekend, all things working according to plan. Professor Kromah said thereactivation of these facilities was part of the priorities that the LBS Board of Directors approved since he took over as acting director-general a week ago. He said the activities would  enable the radio service of the Liberian Broadcasting System, ELBC, to reach out to voters and non-voters in rural Liberia.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201110040618.html

FILM EDUCATION IN LIBERIA

GOVERNMENT FILM SCHOOLS/PRIVATE FILM SCHOOLS IN LIBERIA

Information provided by the Deputy Minister of Technical Services, Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism Elizabeth Hoff

• Liberia has no film/documentary archive or a body that details the volume of films/documentaries produced within a five-year The Ministry of Information previously had such information, but all of that was damaged during the war years and has not been restored.
• There are no government or private film schools in
• The regulatory body for films/documentaries in Liberia is the Ministry of Information.
• The Movie Union of Liberia is the advocacy group for films/documentaries. Any individual or group seeking to produce a documentary or film in Liberia must first seek permission from the Ministry of Information and work in collaboration with the Movie

GOVERNMENTAL/NON-GOVERNMENTAL FUNDING BODIES FOR FILM

There are no structures in place for funding film in Liberia, governmental or non-governmental.

ADVOCACY GROUPS IN THE FILM INDUSTRY

This organisation does not have a website but publications on the media suggest they have been active for the past 3 years.

MOVIE UNION OF LIBERIA (LIMU)

LIMU was established April 17, 2004, accredited by the Ministry of Information, Culture & Tourism, Ministry of Labor & Ministry of Commerce & Industry to help government regulate movies and its related activities. https://www.facebook.com/…/Liberia-Movie- Union/299188486843521

SOME KEY PLAYERS IN THE INDUSTRY

Before Liberia’s civil war, James Emmanuel Roberts worked in theatre, dance and television for more than 10 years. He earned an Ed.M. in administration, planning and social policy analysis from Harvard University. He returned to Liberia in 1999, establishing an NGO that designed training programmes for educators. In 2006, he was named Deputy Minister for Planning, Research and Development for the Ministry of Education, where he had direct responsibility for planning and implementing a national education recovery programme. He is currently the Founder and Artistic Director of the Blamadon Center for the Arts.He is the executive director of the documentary film, No More Selection, We Want Elections (2005).

Deputy Minister of Technical Services Department of the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism Hon. Rixck Barsigiah.

Members from the Liberian Movie Union

Sylvanus Mohamed Turay is a key figure in the establishment of the Liberian Movie industry, a founding member of the Liberian Movie Union (LIMU) and its first elected Executive President. He was appointed a member of the Copyright Board of Liberia by the President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, where he served for three years. As an independent film producer, director, editor, writer, and an award winning actor; he has produced films like: Tears of Marriage, Complex Decision 1&2, Guided Destiny 1&2, Home Again and 10 video documentaries for the UN and other Non Governmental Organisations.

Kadiatu Kaba has a BA in mass communications. She has served in various roles over the years including as a broadcaster for Ducor Broadcasting, a Public Relations Officer for Amnesty International, an Investigative Journalist for the election process. She is currently Vice President, Liberia Movie Union.

ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Taking into consideration that I have not yet conducted an on the ground assessment on the state of the film industry and documentary filmmaking in Liberia, this assessment is based on correspondence with filmmakers there.

Liberia seems to share many attributes of Sierra Leone, they are neighboring countries, they have both been through a civil war that devastated lives, destroyed historical data and left countless stories untold. The film industry in both countries is very young and underdeveloped.

From this perspective, I would say the development of skills of filmmakers is crucial. There has to be some kind of investment in Media training. I would recommend critical support for a media school with a curriculum that not only deals with the technical understanding of production, but also deals with the creative side of production and the interrogation of content.

As in all the other West African countries I have visited, the broadcast industry in Liberia does not commission content, therefore Media training also needs to familiarize these filmmakers with the use and power of the internet as a platform for the promotion and exhibition of their work. They need to have a familiarity with promotion strategies using the social media channels so that they can aggregate an audience for their work and also potentially use these channels for distribution until better options evolve.

I would suggest as well that the government of Liberia be a partner in the establishment of this training structure and infrastructure – including assisting with making equipment available, another factor that is critical. However, the learning/training environment needs to be open enough for these young filmmakers to be able to express themselves.

The government also owns a major broadcast structure that could open its schedule to permit documentary filmmakers cost-free access to broadcast their works.

Funding for documentary filmmaking is necessary to nurture the growth of documentary filmmaking in Liberia. There are Non-governmental organisations on the ground in Liberia doing post-war rehabilitation work. My suggestion would be for funds to be administered through one of these NGOs until an alternative funding structure is implemented.

What really needs to be built immediately is the capacity of these vibrant filmmakers to emerge as strong, viable and creative voices in documentary.

— Femi Odugbemi