Just hours after a Saint Lucia Daily Post report published on Tuesday exposing outstanding payments linked to the award-winning film Omyra, the situation took a dramatic turn. Compensation has been issued — but under conditions.
Multiple sources confirm that the film’s director, Elijah Anatole, personally delivered payments to individuals involved in the production shortly after the report was published, reportedly demanding to know who had taken the matter to the media.
Anatole also took to social media to publicly express his ire at Saint Lucia Daily Post’s publication of the report on the unsettled situation, describing it as “riddled with misinformation and lies.”
Cast members have, however, expressed surprise at the speed with which Anatole was able to make payments, coming almost immediately after his firm assertions that the film was executed on a pro bono basis with no payment agreement in place.
Recipients claim the payments were accompanied by a document which they were asked to sign, indicating that the funds were issued as a stipend, not payment, and that all work on the production had been conducted on a pro bono basis.
Some individuals admitted that they signed the document, while others say they did not.
Sources further allege that Anatole appeared visibly incensed at the time the payments were made, contributing to what has been described as a tense and uncomfortable process. One individual also described the director as disagreeable when prior attempts were made to broach discussions on compensation.
Despite those developments, Anatole has consistently maintained that Omyra was never intended to be a paid production. In an interview with Saint Lucia Daily Post prior to the publication of the initial report, he rejected claims of non-payment, stating that “everybody who worked on the film knew that it was a non-paying gig,” and described suggestions to the contrary as rumours.
He acknowledged that no formal contracts were signed — a lapse he described as his fault — but insisted that all participants were verbally informed at auditions that the project would be unpaid and agreed to those terms.
Anatole also defended the pro bono approach by referencing the role of members of the technical team, stating that several individuals had no prior experience working on film sets and were brought on to learn. He said he handled most aspects of the production himself, while others assisted with basic tasks, including holding lights, as part of the learning process.
However, those involved in the production continue to strongly dispute that account.
They maintain that compensation was promised from the outset and insist there was never any agreement for the work to be done on a pro bono basis.
When contacted for context on the process involved in procuring talent for films, veteran filmmaker and producer of the documentary series Untold Stories, Dale Elliott, pushed back against the notion of actors working under such an arrangement, saying he had “never heard such nonsense” in reference to the pro bono explanation being advanced.
Speaking to the process that obtains when producers procure actors, Elliott indicated that terms and conditions must be clearly established from the outset. He also pointed to the real costs involved in filmmaking, noting that in a production he is currently working on all actors are being paid. Even vintage cars being used as props are being rented from their owners he said.
