Rita Dominic Speaks About Winning Africa Best Actress

Rita Dominic on stage

Nigerian actress Rita Dominic has attributed her winning the overall Africa Best Actress at the just-ended African Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) to hard work.

Rita beat Yvonne Okoro, Ama K Abebrese, Nse Ikpe Etim and Millicent Makheido to win the award for her role in the film, ‘Shattered’. 

After receiving her statuette on the night, she dedicated the award to African women especially and her friends on social networks including twitter.

She told NEWS-ONE after the award ceremony it was her hard work that had paid off.

She said the shooting of the movie was very challenging and described it as “the dark period of my life”. 

“Getting into character; I have not done anything like this in my 12 or 13 years as a professional actor. Getting into character was a challenge on its own. I have four different stages of emotional levels that I had to go through from child abuse to being downgraded, to drug abuse to mental retardation. It was a dark period of my life.

“I will say that the people who haven’t seen this film, they should make sure they see it when it officially comes out. It is a film that everybody can relate to. Like I said in my speech, a lot of women in the world, especially African women, can relate to the character Njamah but it is also a story that people, men, women and children can relate to. I don’t want to give out much about story because I want you to watch it.”

The overall best actress category had been won by Ghana two consecutive times. In 2010, three actresses- Lydia Forson, Jackie Appiah and Naa Ashokor Doku- picked the award for their joint role in Sparrows Production’s ‘Perfect Picture’. In 2011, Ama K. Abebrese won the award with her role in Leila Djansi’s ‘Sinking Sands’, beating the likes of Genevieve Nnaji.

However, Nigeria bounced back with Rita Dominic winning this year. “Oh gosh I’m overwhelmed. I’m happy that I’m rewarded for a job that I put in so much work for. Words can’t even really describe how I feel now. The award means that I’m doing something right. It just means that doing something good,” she told NEWS-ONE after the ceremony on early Monday morning.

It’s Rita first AMAA. Hopes are that the recognition will skyrocket her career to another level. Rita is good at what she does and has been in a lot of movies in Nigeria and outside Nigeria.

Rita Dominic is a member of the Royal Waturuocha family of Aborh Mbaise local government area in Imo State. She is the youngest of 4 siblings. Her late parents were medical practitioners; her father was a medical doctor and her mother a nursing officer. Dominic completed her primary and secondary school in Abia State, Nigeria, before heading to the University of Port Harcourt, where she graduated with a BA (Honours) Degree in Theatre Arts in 1999.

Dominic started performing when she was a child, appearing in school plays and children’s television shows in Imo state. In 1998, she starred in her first movie ‘A Time To Kill’. She won the City People Awards in 2004 as the Most Outstanding Actress. She has starred in over 100 Nollywood productions.

credit: Francis Addo NEWS-ONE