Ghanaian filmmaker Shirley Frimpong-Manso says the global film industry is in “panic mode” over the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI), warning that the technology is already displacing jobs and transforming film production.
She said AI is reshaping various aspects of filmmaking, including scriptwriting, music scoring and production, while advances in camera technology and digital set design are posing further threats to jobs across the industry.
Speaking on Breakfast Daily on Channel One TV on Friday, October 30, 2026, Frimpong-Manso said: “The film industry around the world, I mean everybody, is all in panic mode because it’s already taking a lot of jobs away. I mean, sometimes when you see the films, some of the films that we’re making now, you can clearly see that these are AI-written scripts that you get, and music is also having the same thing.”
The renowned filmmaker said AI tools could transform production environments, allowing filmmakers to create elaborate settings without physically constructing them. This, she said, is threatening jobs across the industry.
“We have digital operator cameras now, where you don’t have people standing behind you, and then of course, in a space like this, all you need to probably do is to put chairs in there, and you could change the entire backdrop of this place into a palace, all with AI. So these things are happening, and they’re happening very, very fast,” she said.
Despite the disruption, Madam Frimpong-Manso urged industry players not to resist the technology but to understand its capabilities and adapt through training.
“Now, so what are you going to do? Are you just going to sit back and cry about it? No, you have to learn, you know, what the dynamics are, train, obviously, the crew. Even I’m learning very much how to use these tools to my benefit,” she said.
She said filmmakers could use AI to produce stories that were previously too expensive to bring to the screen, particularly historical narratives requiring elaborate sets and visual effects.
“So typically, I’m guessing with AI now, we can begin to tell perhaps some of our stories from the past that a few years ago, we were not going to be able to, because it was going to cost us an arm and a leg to tell. Now with AI, you know, it’s possible to go back and tell a Yaa Asantewaa film, but done very well. Emphasis on the done very well,” she said.
She added that the anxiety surrounding AI was not limited to filmmaking, describing it as a wider challenge affecting industries beyond the creative sector.
SOURCE: citinewsroom.com