Through their collaboration, Elba and Abudu aim to nurture a more inclusive and diverse media landscape for stories from Africa and its diaspora.
Nigeria-based Mo Abudu’s EbonyLife Media and Idris Elba’s Green Door Pictures have partnered to create a film and television development slate that will focus on authentic, Afro-centric stories.
The partnership takes a two-fold approach: building TV and film capacity and producing “large-scale global productions.”
The partnership aims to empower and uplift talent from Africa and the Diaspora by backing a development slate of film and TV projects and, by supporting up-and-coming creatives and executives from those communities, to build capacity and foster authentic representation in the international industry, to give stories from Africa and its Diaspora the same level of attention and respect as other cultures and communities.
Meanwhile, the pair will use EbonyLife’s Creative Academy in Lagos, Nigeria, as a model for a set of similar programmes 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 co-production between Green Door Pictures and EbonyLife Media aim to provide a range of content for broadcasters and streamers as well as for theatrical distribution globally.
Elba and Abudu have called on industry leaders globally, the public sector, governments, and multilateral agencies, to help them grow talent globally and build capacity around the continent of Africa.
Speaking about the collaboration, Elba said: “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.”
Abudu added: “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.”
