Veteran actor and producer, Anayo Modestus Onyekwere, popularly known as Kanayo O. Kanayo has said that the Nigerian film industry needs to create an enduring structure to facilitate the desired growth.
He made the comment when he appeared on the online interview show 90MinutesAfrica hosted by Rudolf Okonkwo and Chido Onumah.
“Nollywood lacks the necessary structure with which to create processes and procedures to draw funds from local and international sources,” the actor and lawyer noted.
“If the Motion Picture Practitioners Bill had been passed, it would have helped to sanitise and streamline the industry.
“Currently there are too many discordant voices in the industry. The various Guilds – Actors Guild, Producers Guild, Directors Guild and so on – must come together and ensure that whatever affects Nollywood is treated as something critical and urgent. This lack of structure is one reason Nollywood is not where it is supposed to be.”
On the issue of welfare of actors, Kanayo O. Kanayo advocated a contributory scheme by practitioners from which funds can be drawn to assist members in times of need.
“We had proposed to the Actors Guild, where I belong, that members should contribute a percentage of their fees so that when they retire the system can take care of them.
“To all intent and purposes, the current president of the Actors Guild, Emeka Rollas, has done a lot to bring actors together. Unfortunately, some people still feel they are bigger than the industry, so they don’t come to places where actors meet. This attitude has not helped in the fund contribution drive.
“This inability of the Guilds to operate a structure by which their members can be taken care of during the rainy day has been a problem,” the veteran actor noted.
