Rita Dominic calls for royalties for African actors.
Nigerian actress Rita Dominic has said in a recent interview with Joy FM‘s Lexis Bill that she is looking forward to seeing African actors earn royalties for their works.
Rita who appeared on Personality Profile, noted that although a lot of film makers are working hard in their various fields, what will make their lives better is royalties known in the film industry as residuals.
“It will be nice for actors in Africa to have their royalties so that way people are not struggling when they get older, which has been the challenge in the industry for some old actors. They have been struggling financially and that shouldn’t be so. These are people who have done major films, been involved in major films and all that and then all of a sudden when they are old, they are struggling financially. Meanwhile, their films are still being played on YouTube, on all these platforms and they are even getting royalties or getting monies from them,” she said.
Most film industries in Africa have bemoaned lack of proper systems to get residuals from audio visual content consumed by the public.
Residuals are financial compensations that are paid to the actors, film or television directors, and others involved in making TV shows and movies in cases of the cable reruns, syndication, DVD release, or licensing to streaming media.
The actors guild in Nigeria has always said that from television airings to streaming, every new licence should count as additional wages for them too. In Ghana, the Audiovisual Right Society of Ghana (ARSOG) has also come under criticism for failing to equitably distribute residuals for its members.
In Rita’s interview with Lexis Bill, also intimated that actors need to manage their finances well so that they don’t find themselves in penury later on in life.
“Maybe some of us need to invest more, do more financial planning, and understand that the work will not always keep coming,” she further noted.
According to her, although some actors are pressured to spend a lot to keep up with their celebrity lifestyles, she has always lived within her means.
“It is expensive as well, having to support the brand or the the celerity status which is why you have to know how to spend our money.
I do not [feel pressured]. I am not one of those. I definitely don’t feel pressured. Some do, which is why they feel the need to do other things to keep up their appearance,” he stated.
Rita, a colossus in the Nigerian film industry, was in Ghana as a speaker at the Women of Valour Summit organised by media personality Nana Aba Anamoah.
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Other women who spoke at the event were Ghanaian film producer Shirley Frimpong-Manso, South African broadcaster and actress Bonang Matheba, among others.
