By Charlotte Mutambara
A Ghanaian television channel is being accused of breaching copyright for a locally produced film which it flighted without buying screening rights.
King of Kings TV broadcasted Goodman on Kwese bouquet’s channel 024 on February 25.
Goodman film’s multi-award-winning director Igi Matope confirmed the breach and said he was in the process of engaging the broadcaster.
“We never made any agreement with the Ghanaian Television channel. They did not contact us and we hope to engage them over the issue,” Matope said.
The Goodman movie took Mutare and beyond by storm.
Set in the picturesque eastern highlands, it features local acting icons who include Tapiwa Marahwa and Farirai Clarence Borerwe.
Matope who wrote and directed the movie started writing the script in 2012 hoping to shoot it in 2015 but its production was postponed to 2017.
It was premiered in 2018 at the Skyview Hotel where it drew crowds from across all classes in Mutare and moved many to tears.
It was uploaded onto Youtube on January 15 on Matope’s Pikicha Africa Youtube Channel where it continues to receive rave reviews.
Multichoice Dstv Zimbabwe’s Liz Dziva described it as an ‘enthralling movie that takes you through an emotional roller coaster’ after watching it in 2018.
“Poignant yet hilarious, Goodman is a movie I wouldn’t mind watching over and over again,” Dziva added.
The movie addresses social concerns that are often ignored by communities according to many film critics.
The pirating of the film raises questions of how artists and regional Television channels can work together across borders.
