The Actors Guild of Nigeria has thrown its weight behind a new continental initiative aimed at fostering joint film projects and storytelling among African performers.
The commitment was made by the guild’s National President, Abubakar Yakubu, at a press briefing in Abuja, according to news reports.
The briefing was jointly convened by the Pan-African Actors Roundtable and Awards (PAARA), in partnership with AGN and the Film Association of Malawi (FAMA).
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Yakubu noted that the initiative by thespians across Africa represents a significant move towards bringing actors on the continent together and giving the creative sector a unified voice.
“This is a very good initiative. We started this journey together with my predecessor. It is to look into the future of the industry with the aim of uniting Africa to have a single voice in the creative industry, especially the performance,” he stated.
He affirmed that the guild is fully behind the project, which he said is geared towards ensuring a sustainable future for actors throughout Africa.
“We are 100 per cent in support of this initiative. We are together, and in every movement of PAARA, AGN will be there to celebrate the achievement,” Yakubu said.
He disclosed that the initiative has already drawn interest from performing arts bodies in several African nations, including South Africa, Kenya, Sierra Leone, Malawi, The Gambia, Mozambique and Cameroon.
Yakubu also commended Malawi for agreeing to host the continental unveiling, noting that the programme would merge entrepreneurship, business and empowerment with the goal of uniting African actors.
Speaking earlier, the immediate past president of AGN and founder of PAARA, Emeka Rollas, said the platform was created to tackle shared challenges confronting African actors and to enhance their professional representation.
Rollas stated that the organisation was established to advance actors’ welfare, professional dignity, fair remuneration, intellectual property protection and access to global markets.
“Our ambition is to create a common continental table where these institutions can meet, exchange ideas and develop common positions on issues affecting actors.We also want to build partnerships and pursue opportunities that may be difficult for individual national organisations to achieve alone,” he emphasised.
He said PAARA would function on four pillars: advocacy, training, marketplace and recognition to boost professional growth and open up opportunities for actors.
“Through advocacy, we intend to promote policies that protect actors’ rights, strengthen professional standards, encourage fair remuneration, improve working conditions and advance the protection and monetisation of intellectual property.
“In training, we seek to support professional development, capacity building, knowledge exchange, leadership development and the transfer of skills across generations and national boundaries. Through the marketplace, we want to connect actors and creative professionals to production opportunities, international markets, co-productions, distribution networks, investors, digital platforms and other commercial opportunities,” he revealed.
According to him, the body will champion the recognition of actors by celebrating excellence, professional contribution, leadership, cultural influence and the achievements of African actors whose work continues to shape the image of our continent.
Rollas, however, emphasised that PAARA is not meant to rival existing actors’ guilds and unions but to complement and reinforce their efforts.
“Our ambition is to build a united, professionally empowered and globally competitive African acting community, where the actor is not merely celebrated for performance but recognised as a professional, an entrepreneur and a custodian of culture,” he disclosed.
He traced the origin of the initiative to an engagement with the African Union Commission in 2018 and subsequent deliberations involving creative professionals from over 20 African countries in South Africa in 2025.
The former AGN president announced that the continental unveiling of PAARA will take place on Nov. 26 in Lilongwe, Malawi.
He said the unveiling will be held during the Malawi Creative Economy and Investment Forum, slated for Nov. 25 to 27.
According to him, the forum will convene stakeholders to deliberate on creative enterprise, investment, intellectual property protection, market access and international partnerships.
Rollas identified FAMA as the official host-country institutional partner, adding that its participation would enhance PAARA’s continental reach.
In her remarks, the President of FAMA, Dorothy Kingston, said the partnership would deepen ties between the Nigerian and Malawian film industries and open up opportunities for practitioners in both countries.
“We are here to strengthen the relationship between Malawi and Nigeria through a strategic partnership that will create opportunities for both film industries,” she noted.
Kingston said the collaboration would encourage joint film production, skills development, exchange programmes and investment.
According to her, such a platform will create opportunities for Malawian actors to participate in Nigerian film productions.
She encouraged Nigerian filmmakers to consider Malawi as a filming location, highlighting its lakes, mountains and tourism infrastructure.
“Our ambition is to position Malawi as an active player in the African film industry. We do not want our industry to remain isolated. We want our stories, talent and production to reach wider African and international markets,” she said.
Kingston described Nigeria as a vital partner, noting that Malawi aims to learn from its more established film industry through sustained cooperation.
She urged Nigerian filmmakers to collaborate with their Malawian counterparts, expressing FAMA’s willingness to support co-productions between both countries.
Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Pine Leaf Estates, Chief Onyekachukwu Nzekwesili, said the partnership offers a chance to link businesses across Africa and with people in Malawi.
NAN
