By Ahmad Muto
Actress, producer and director Eleanor Nabwiso has stated that even with the birth of the many movie streaming platforms that are heavily invested in local content, it is still hard for content creators to earn a living off them.
According to her, she was one time contacted by a local streaming platform for her films and she was glad they had reached out. But her shock was when she was paid sh7,000 after a year.
“I was once approached by a local movie platform that had interest in my content. I was glad because they kept asking me about where to find my movies. I said if you can’t get on Showmax or iFlix because of data, arrange for us a channel here where I can put it. I put my movie on the platform and I was given sh7,000 at the end of the year,” a frustrated Eleanor said.
Eleanor made the remarks while speaking on A Twitter Space organised by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) under the topic, “#BuildingUgandaFilmIndustry – What we can do better.”
But the owners of the platform, she said, got millions of views that if she was paid per view, even sh500 per view, she would be very rich.
She noted that they were excited when the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) instructed that there is 70% local content on local media, but when selling their work, they are offered 70:30 percent in the buyer’s favour, and it’s worse on the streets.
“I spent millions on the project, so I am not giving it away for nothing. I am not going to produce a DVD and sell on the street because there is not copyright law established for filmmakers in Uganda. A DVD on the street will go for sh1000 each and will not make enough money,” she added.
