hollywood actor Idris Elbe and Nigerian media mogul mo abudu announced on Thursday a partnership aimed at empowering and uplifting talent from Africa and the diaspora.
The duo, in a statement, through their respective production companies, Green Door Pictures and EbonyLife Media, said the partnership aims to build capacity and foster authentic representation in global film and television projects set for production.
The new partnership, they added, will provide opportunities through a two-pronged approach: through capacity building and large-scale global productions.
The hope is that the new education and mentoring initiatives launched through the association will help foster both the lost generation and a new generation of creative professionals, showcasing their skills and telling their stories to the world.
Through their collaboration, Elba and Abudu aim to foster a more inclusive and diverse media landscape where diaspora stories are given the same attention and respect as other cultures and communities.
Both call on global industry leaders, the general public sector, governments and multilateral agencies to help them develop talent globally and build capacity in Africa.
Goals
Its objective is to offer activities to support and empower African talent. Through EbonyLife’s ebonylifecreativeacedemy.com academy in Lagos, Nigeria (a model replicated across the continent), the association will support graduates of the programme.
They also hope to create a new development slate of stories from Africa or set in the diaspora as feature films and TV series for the global market. The developing slate will focus on bringing authentic, Afrocentric stories that resonate with audiences around the world. These co-productions between Green Door Pictures and EbonyLife Media will provide rs and streamers and theatrical distribution globally.
Idris Elba said: “I have always been passionate about using my platform to make a positive impact. By partnering with Mo, our goal is to bring 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, representing the voices and experiences of Africa and its diaspora around the world.”
Ms Abudu, founder of EbonyLife Media, said: “We believe that Africa has the talent and stories to captivate the world. Our mission is to offer the best in education, mentoring and production opportunities in the industry so that our graduates can become valuable contributors to the global media landscape. We plan to get going and explore the best that African and black stories have to offer to global audiences.”
Idris Elbe
Headshot of Idris Elba – (PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Piper)
Idris is an award-winning actor, producer, director, and musician who continually secures his place as one of Hollywood’s most versatile entertainers. In 2016, he became the first male actor to receive dual SAG Awards in one night: Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role and Outstanding Performance in a TV Movie or Miniseries.
Idris’s career has skyrocketed on the small screen in some of the UK’s highest rated shows. Shortly thereafter, Elba landed the role of Stringer Bell on HBO’s critically acclaimed series THE WIRE, which earned an NAACP Image Award nomination. In 2010, Elba landed the lead role in the BBC miniseries LUTHER, which earned him a Golden Globe, SAG Award and four Primetime Emmy Award nominations. The series returned in 2019 for its fifth season.
Behind the camera, Idris made his feature directorial debut at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival with YARDIE. In 2018, Elba was named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. In July of the same year, Idris launched his record label, 7Wallace Music.
Green Door Pictures was founded by him to develop new and established talent to champion inclusion, representation, and diverse storytelling in the film and television industry.
Film credits include ‘Concrete Cowboy’ in collaboration with Neighborhood Film Co., Tucker Tooley Entertainment and Lee Daniels Entertainment for Netflix and ‘A Diva’s Christmas Carol’ for VH1 starring Ashanti, Vivica A. Fox, Robin Givens, Eva Marcille and Mel b.
Recent unscripted television shows include Idris Elba’s Fight School’, a four-part documentary series co-produced with Workerbee for the BBC.
Mo Abudu Mo Abudu (credit to photographer Kelechi Amadi-Obi)
Mo Abudu made her mark in the corporate world as an HR executive before breaking into the media with her innovative pan-African talk show, Moments with Mo.
He then created EbonyLife TV, an entertainment channel known for high-quality drama, talk, and movies, which was available in 54 countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Moving on to film production, his EbonyLife Films would go on to create Nigeria’s highest grossing films, The Wedding Party and The Wedding Party 2, and a string of hit titles that excited Nollywood fans.
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Mo is a member of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences, popularly known as ‘THE OSCARS’ in the PRODUCER membership category. In September 2022, she accepted an appointment from Harvard Business School as an Executive Fellow.
In 2022, The Hollywood Reporter named her one of the 20 Most Powerful Women in Entertainment.
