Are African actors given enough respect?

Africa's biggest and most prestigious cultural event, Fespaco 2003, is well underway in Burkina Faso's capital Ouagadougou.

It's the 18th time the pan-African film and television festival has been held and it brings together the cream of the continent's directors and actors.

However, despite the fanfare over Fespaco, in Africa a career in acting has been traditionally looked down upon and seen as a profession for wasters.

Air your film views

Many African musicians and sports people are now household names but this is not always the case for actors.

Are African actors given enough respect? Can African films give birth to stars, or do you have to go Hollywood to "make it"?

---

This debate is now closed. Read your comments below.

---

Your comments:

The fact is people have no TVs and the government love to use the airwaves for their own good. We need to have a private TV industry in Africa. The film industry needs to step in and make deals with electronic companies. If they could make TV affordable then we can start talking about an African film industry.
Raphael, US

Aren't they all talented African actors, playing a big role in the US film industry?
Hailu, Ethiopia

The problem is, to many people in the Western world any thing which is not known to them, or understood to them in their own way does not exist. Respect indeed!!
Moses Mboya, Tanzania/US

All they need to do is show African films in American theatres Rony, Canada

African actors and actresses get the respect they deserve from African people. I have watched some African films here in Canada and can tell you, I'm very impressed. All they need to do is show African films in American theatres and bring them to the rest of the world and I believe people will love it.
Rony, Canada

Acting has always played a great role in traditional Africa, from entertainment of kings to passing on moral values. It is only today the African film industry is looked down upon by Africans and Westerners. I have been able to watch many African movies in the US that aren't given the time of day back home. People back home had never heard of the multiple award winning movie Lumumba, aired in theatres and on TV here, while Western movies such as Die Another Day are showing everywhere.

The idea that African films can only gain critical acclaimed through Hollywood is ludicrous!!! Hollywood is American and primarily celebrates American actors! Our movie theatres need to quit glorifying the foreign film industry and neglecting our own!!!
Mkosa Kabila, Kenyan/USA

African movies ought to be translated into French and English for the African audience. No need to compete or compare African actors with Hollywood actors, after all Hollywood is about race, sex and violence and nothing to inspire Africans actors.
Nsambila Cecil Mbolela, Zambia/Chicago

They need scripts that bring out the African-ness in them Wudu, Canada

It is not a question of respect rather, I think, it is a question of scripts. Most scripts are a parody of Hollywood. For African actors/actresses to gain respect, they need great scripts that bring out the African-ness in them.
Wudu, Canada

People's taste in films is reasonably socio-culturally specific. Respect from whom? We Africans respect them. That's good enough for them and for us. Thank you.
Ali Farah, England/Somalia

Acting is basically a reflection of the reality on the ground. And clearly who would want to spend their leisure time looking at poverty, persecution, abuse and endless wars? Unless Africa puts an end to its turmoil and actors depict good things about Africa we will not spend a cent on African movies and even their audience will remain limited.
Claudie Mambwe, Lusaka, Zambia

Do you see other actors pointing out their ethnicity? Jason Brooks, USA

Until Africans stop singling themselves out from the general populous, there will always be a lack of respect. Actors in general are respected if they are good actors, colour does not play a part in respect until the African community brings it to spotlight. Why does a group have to be African? This is a profession; do you see other actors pointing out their ethnicity?
Jason Brooks, USA

With all due respect, I've never heard of any African actors. I agree that the problem probably does arise from a lack of exposure.
Ilari, UK

I think the African people have got it just about right. In Hollywood it would be quite accurate to describe the acting profession as full of wasters. And overpaid. And too much attention paid to their generally ludicrous opinions on most social issues. Wasters - very good, I like that, I will have to remember it.
Mike Hughes, USA

The African film industry is at its growth stage Nicholas Ngugi, USA/Kenyan

African actors and movie makers need to understand that the African film industry is at its growth stage and it will take a long time before it becomes as big as the Asian and American film industries. I think that African movie makers and movie audiences should help by making sure that we make movies that are relative to African experiences.
Nicholas Ngugi, USA/Kenyan

I think that they are seriously overlooked. The fact that they are from the African continent means that these actors are seen as inferior. In my opinion, most of them can hold their own anywhere, be it in Africa or Hollywood.
Ade Ogunade, UK

Many African actors have great talent and are appreciated by the local audience. However a lack of resources and sidelining by Western countries makes it hard for the actors to get the recognition they deserve.
Alyek, Uganda

The chief problem is exposure, not lack of talent. Due to the vagaries of distribution, most African films end up in the art house ghetto. Even acclaimed African films of the recent past (for example, the Senegalese movie Xala) are unavailable on video.
Robert del Valle, USA

They are as talented as any of their counterparts Henry, Ethiopia

I think most African actors aren't given the respect they deserve. We Africans respect our actors and actress. They should have their own organisation that looks after their interests instead of the interests of the movie makes. The actors' guild in Hollywood certainly looks after its members. Why aren't the African actors and actress protected as well? They are as talented as any of their counterparts, if given the chance and opportunity.
Henry, Ethiopia

The concept of 'making it' in the movies is a Western concept. No need to impose it on African actors. I think the arts are more appreciable when you have no other dire needs. Although this might be the case in some countries, I don't believe most African societies can afford this luxury.
Banchi Dessalegn, Ethiopian living in the US

Africa has already produced many actors, who are cherished by their local audience. Being a renowned actor in the Hollywood is not a question of talent and professionalism, it is a question of the US global hegemony in the entertainment business. We need our actors to transmit our values, cultures and hopes to the future generation through their artistic works. That is why the Ouagadougou cultural event is dear to us.
Zendi, Netherlands

I would hate to see Hollywood in Africa Sulekha Hassan, England/Somalia

Hollywood has money but talent cannot be bought. Africa has an enriching history of literature and improvisation and that is real talent. Real talent is not when you are handed a script which you learn for over months and months, real talent is all about bringing out the character in you and that is what Africans are good at. They deserve respect but I would hate to see a Hollywood/Bollywood type industry in Africa, I like the subversive talent that Africa has to offer.
Sulekha Hassan, England/Somalia

Many Africans, especially women, have beaten the odds to overcome cultural barriers to pursue "untraditional" careers. The emerging motion-picture and entertainment industry should not measure its progress by Hollywood standards that have been around for over a century. Rather, it should seek partnership in foreign countries for wider distribution, market expansion and diversification.

I have watched new, authentic and interesting African movies on Black Entertainment Television (BET) and Starz! TV channels here in the US. What the African entrepreneurs lack most now is foreign exposure. It takes some time to gain such recognition. But it's feasible.
Igonikon Jack, USA

---