The National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) was established in 1978 by the Government of Ghana as a public Institution of Higher Education in Film and Television Production. NAFTI has a campus spread over three studios all within walking distance in a quiet residential vicinity of Accra. Since its inception in 1978, NAFTI has fostered professional and academic excellence in film and television education. The Institute has maintained this high level of performance over the years and consequently has drawn students from many parts of sub-Saharan Africa including Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Thus, NAFTI's graduates have been influential in shaping the film and television industry in Ghana and in Africa.

The Institute offered three-year professional programmes leading to the award of Diploma until 1999, when, in affiliation with the University of Ghana, it commenced full-time four-year professional Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in addition to two-year Diploma programmes. The two-year Diploma programmes are essentially intended for industry practitioners who wish to update their knowledge and skills. NAFTI has over the years also provided diverse collaborative technical support for projects within and outside the continent.

The Institute is a full member of the renowned International Association of Film and Television Academies and Universities (CILECT). As a pace-setter in film and television education in sub-Saharan Africa, NAFTI is proud to become the first full member of this prestigious Association from the Region.

The training programme at NAFTI is designed to develop in the students scholarly, creative and professional approach to film making and television production. The Institute recognises its unique role in the development and propagation of African culture and therefore encourages each student to develop his creative talents to be able to face the challenge of producing materials that reflect the spiritual and intellectual aspiration of the African peoples. In order to accomplish these goals, NAFTI endows its students with modern facilities and equipment. The main NAFTI Library houses the largest book stock (about 25,000) and, film and television materials. The Library subscribes to twenty professional serials (periodicals, journals, magazines) and its collections also cover other branches of the arts which are related to NAFTI's core discipline of film and television. NAFTI has a well-equipped television studio, film and video production equipment, computer animation facilities, still photo laboratory, viewing theatres, etc.

NAFTI aspires to maintain and further establish a reputation for excellence in film and television education, and also aims to be a worldwide model for other regional institutions of higher education and thereby attract more funding and other forms of support.