FIA - International Federation of Actors

FIA (International Federation of Actors) is the global organization representing performer trade unions and guilds from over 90 countries. It serves as an umbrella body that facilitates cooperation between national unions and advocates for performers' rights internationally.

FIA's member organizations include SAG-AFTRA, British Equity, ACTRA, MEAA, and dozens of other national performer unions. The federation coordinates on issues like international co-production agreements, digital rights, and cross-border performer protections.

For actors working internationally, FIA is the body that helps ensure your rights are protected across borders. It advocates at international policy forums including the World Intellectual Property Organization and the International Labour Organization.

FIA is a federation of unions, not an individual membership organization. Actors access its benefits through their national union membership. There is no separate fee or application process for individual performers.

While most actors will not interact with FIA directly, understanding its role helps you appreciate the global infrastructure supporting performer rights. If you work internationally, the agreements FIA facilitates affect your protections abroad. FIA's work is particularly important in the digital age, where content crosses borders instantly and traditional national union frameworks may not adequately protect performers whose work is distributed globally on streaming platforms. The federation has been at the forefront of advocating for performers' rights in the context of artificial intelligence, digital replicas, and the unauthorized use of performers' likenesses — issues that affect actors worldwide regardless of their home country. FIA's member organizations collectively represent over 700,000 performers across more than 90 countries, making it the largest global coalition dedicated to protecting the rights of performing artists.

FIA is a federation of unions, not an individual membership organization, which means there are no direct fees for individual performers. Actors access FIA's benefits through their membership in a national affiliate union such as SAG-AFTRA, British Equity, ACTRA, or MEAA. The federation is funded by membership contributions from its affiliate unions, which are calculated based on the size and resources of each national union. This funding model means that your SAG-AFTRA or Equity membership dues partially support FIA's international advocacy work on your behalf, even though you may never interact with FIA directly. The federation's budget supports its advocacy programs, international conferences, research initiatives, and the coordination of cross-border performer protections. For individual performers, the most tangible benefit of FIA's existence is the reciprocal agreements between national unions that FIA helps facilitate and maintain.

While individual performers cannot join FIA directly, understanding the federation's role enriches your appreciation of the global performer rights infrastructure and helps you navigate international work more effectively. If you work internationally or plan to, research the reciprocal agreements that FIA helps facilitate between your home union and the performer unions in your target countries, as these agreements can simplify work permit processes and ensure your pension contributions and protections carry across borders. Actors who are passionate about performer rights advocacy should engage with their national union's international committee or delegate program, as this is the pathway to participating in FIA's conferences and working groups. If you are primarily concerned with domestic work and have no plans to work internationally, FIA's work still benefits you indirectly through the international standards and protections it helps establish, particularly in the areas of digital rights and AI regulations that affect performers globally.

Stay informed about FIA's campaigns and publications by visiting fia-actors.com and following the federation's communications, as the issues it addresses — particularly around AI, digital replicas, and global streaming rights — increasingly affect performers in every market regardless of whether they work internationally. If you are interested in performer advocacy at the international level, express your interest to your national union's leadership and ask about opportunities to participate in FIA conferences, working groups, or research initiatives. Understand the reciprocal agreements between your national union and unions in countries where you might work, and carry documentation of your union membership when traveling for international productions, as this facilitates the registration process with host-country unions. Follow the development of international treaties and regulations affecting performer rights, as developments at WIPO, the EU, and other international bodies increasingly shape the protections available to performers worldwide. Recognize that the challenges facing performers — AI replication of likenesses, unauthorized use of performances, fair compensation for global streaming distribution — are inherently international problems that require the kind of coordinated global response that FIA is uniquely positioned to facilitate.