Idris Elba Partners With Mo Abudu To Nurture African Film And TV Talent
The partnership takes a two-fold approach: building TV and film capacity and producing “large-scale global productions.”
Idris Elba Partners With Mo Abudu To Nurture African Film And TV Talent
Idris Elba, the Golden Globe winner, who is of Sierra Leonean and Ghanaian descent, and Mo Abudu, a Nigerian media mogul, have partnered to “empower and uplift talent from Africa and the Diaspora.”
The partnership takes a two-fold approach: building TV and film capacity and producing “large-scale global productions.”
The duo has agreed to develop creatives from Africa through their respective production companies, Green Door Pictures and EbonyLife Media.
The partnership will take a two-pronged approach: Arming students from the EbonyLife Creative Academy in Lagos, Nigeria with the skills and experience they need to flourish in a competitive industry, and producing a slate of authentic African films and TV shows for the global market.
The announcement comes seven years after Elba stood up in the UK Parliament and spoke about the importance of on-screen diversity for society as a whole. In 2020, he called for increased diversity in an essay for the UK’s Times newspaper, writing that “when things get tough, diversity often suffers” and “we have a duty to develop new talent.”
Idris Elba, known for his starring roles in the TV show “The Wire” and Hollywood movies including “Beast,” “Three Thousand Years of Longing,” “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom,” and “The Suicide Squad,” wants to work with budding African filmmakers, to ensure the continent’s talent gets the attention it deserves. Idris Elba reveals:
“I have always been passionate about using my platform to make a positive impact. By partnering with Mo, we aim to offer free, world-class industry education to the next generation of storytellers and bring their authentic voices to the forefront. This partnership is a step towards creating a more inclusive and diverse media landscape, one that represents the voices and experiences of Africa and its diaspora around the world.”
Idris Elba
Abudu, whose EbonyLife outfit has deals in place with the likes of Netflix, Sony Pictures Television and Westbrook Studios, has been a champion of African TV and film for years and is currently working on a Starz drama about Queen Nzinga, which counts 50 Cent as EP. Mo Abudu affirms:
“We believe that Africa has the talent and the stories to captivate the world. It’s our mission to offer the best in industry education, mentorship, and production opportunities, so that our graduates can become valuable contributors to the global media landscape. We plan to hit the ground running and explore the very best that African and Black stories have to offer global audiences.”
Mo Abudu
Meanwhile, the pair will use EbonyLife’s Creative Academy in Lagos, Nigeria as a model for a set of similar programs that will be replicated across the continent. New education and mentoring initiatives will launch to help foster both the lost generation and a new generation of creative professionals in Africa and the diaspora.
The new partnership aims to provide opportunities through capacity building as well as large-scale global productions. New education and mentoring initiatives will launch through the partnership to foster both the lost generation and a new generation of creatives.
Through their collaboration, Elba and Abudu aim to nurture a more inclusive and diverse media landscape for stories from Africa and its diaspora. They are calling on industry leaders, the wider public sector, governments, and multilateral agencies to help them grow talent globally and build capacity around the continent of Africa.
“It’s our mission to offer the best in industry education, mentorship, and production opportunities, so that our graduates can become valuable contributors to the global media landscape,” said Abudu. “We plan to hit the ground running and explore the very best that African and Black stories have to offer global audiences.”
Elba said he has “always been passionate about using my platform to make a positive impact.”He added“ by partnering with Mo, we aim to offer free, world-class industry education to the next generation of storytellers and bring their authentic voices to the forefront.”
