Remarkably, though, theyve never made anything together.
This is about to change.
Its a subject of shared passion for both.
Idris Elba at the global premiere ofLuther: The Fallen Sunin LondonSamir Hussein/WireImage
1 Ladies Detective Agency,to his upcoming untitled Ghana project, which he will direct and star in.
That show eventually generated EbonyLife Studios and sparked her mission to push African stories to the global market.
DEADLINE: What are some of the preconceptions about African content that youre battling right now?
IDRIS ELBA: General knowledge about the African film industry is anchored around a very specific time.
Everyone now centers everything that happens in Africa around what is described as Nollywood.
MO ABUDU: Do you know the history behind the word?
Its stuck since then.
I hate the word Nollywood.
The term Nollywood itself is a bad genre of filmmaking.
So, to still be called Nollywood, for me, is a no.
We need to use terms like African filmmakers or Nigerian filmmakers.
Many Indian filmmakers despise the term Bollywood as well.
Lets talk about you two and this initiative youre setting up.
First, how long have you guys known each other?
ABUDU: Until today, we havent physically met.
This is our first real-life meeting.
Weve had Zooms and phone calls.
ELBA: Ive known of Mo and her work for a while.
Our circles have been adjacent for years probably since the early 2000s.
Shes different; shes got a voice, and shes got perspective.
1 Ladies Detective Agency.
So, it felt like this journey that finds us here today was inevitably going to happen.
Thats why, no matter what we do in Africa… How global are these films going to be?
Id love for there to be some synergy between our stars and the Hollywood stars.
It would help our local projects, incomes and revenues grow.
Whats the status of these?
DEADLINE: Is this where Idris comes in?
ABUDU: Thats the power Idris brings.
Hes also very accessible youre able to call him and discuss ideas with him.
Even though hes very busy, he will make the time.
That makes all the difference.
Hes a partner that is ready to listen.
ELBA: Im aware of my position, and I want to bring people into the room.
We are identifying stories that Mo and I want to make, and we have a pyramid of them.
But to get the right combination, we need to have the right strategic partners.
I dont want to make five films and find that maybe two of them are good.
I want to do two or three films that areamazing.
This is a long-term partnership.
ABUDU: The other component to our work is capacity-building and upskilling filmmakers.
Were taking that model, and we want to try and roll it across the continent.
So many Ive met are confident and self-made.
If they are given capacity early, theyre just going to fly.
ELBA: Africa needs talent and capacity.
Its important for us to amplify the voices in the continent.
ABUDU: This is a market that is totally undiscovered.
Kamala Harris gave a speech and said that in 2050 one in every four people will be African.
What does that say?
We have the youngest youth population in the globe.
Look at what we did with the music industry.
Afrobeats have totally found their way, and those guys have grown by themselves.
Theyve gone out, made music, and become global stars without much support.
The film industry is harder.
ELBA: Afrobeats is a good analogy.
You could even do it on your phone.
Filmmaking is different, but think of what could happen on this digital highway.
ABUDU: The thing is, these guys can spend a week making a two-minute video.
In Hollywood, how many pages do you guys shoot in a day?
ELBA: It really depends.
For a big-budget film, maybe two or three pages.
ABUDU: Two pages!
Its a massive market with diverse cultures and countries.
What do you think about them trying to infiltrate Africa?
ABUDU: Take K-Drama, for example.
But its a bit of a chicken and egg situation.
But we have the same costs in production.
Another challenge we face is the lack of scriptwriters.
The new writers cant skill up if no one commissions them.
Again, its a chicken-and-egg situation.
Its all part of the cycle.
Hopefully, I can use the system for the film I want to shoot in Ghana in December.
DEADLINE: Can you explain specifically what Ghana is committing to?
Is it a tax credit or a rebate?
DEADLINE: What can you tell us about this project youre shooting in Ghana in December?
Im taking part of the storyline to Ghana.
DEADLINE: Lets talk about the young population in Africa.
More than 60 percent of the continent is under the age of 25.
What would you say the challenges are about this on the African continent?
Stories are where we can make a difference.
Look at what Korean films have done.
We have to start somewhere, and we just want to amplify these voices.
Thats why Mo and I are doing this.
Were coming together to move it forward.
ABUDU: Its really important to find the right people that have a shared vision.
Different visions can come together and make things work.
DEADLINE: How can Hollywood and Europe step up their commitment and interest?
The other day I saw an advert forThe Three Musketeers.
How many times are you going to makeThe Three Musketeers?
I dont get that.
Why shouldnt the world know?
And why should it just be limited to the slave trade?
There is more to us than this, and I keep saying it.
DEADLINE: What are some examples of the types of stories coming out of Africa?
ELBA: Its a spectrum.
You go to a village, and there are stories based on folklore and tradition.
Then there are younger people who are wanting to tell stories about Afrofuturism.
ABUDU: Theres lots of stories of the young women of today.
Youve gotSex in the Cityset in New York.
They deserve some representation like everyone else in the world.
I loved the Netflix showBlood Sisters.
Its a thriller, its about the modernization of African women, and its dealing with domestic violence.
If there is a common thread, Id say that Africans want to tell a version of their truth.
ABUDU: Its important for the world to understand our culture.
Nigerian stories, specifically, can be very melodramatic, but we are melodramatic people.
That is our nature.
We cant change who we are and what our culture is just for a film to travel.
DEADLINE: So what are the next steps?
ELBA: The practical next step is to identify a project to greenlight and start shooting early next year.
Alongside that, we want to put the school on the map.
People are impatient, but things take time.
ABUDU: But thats not to say that there isnt movement.
With us, there will be more movement because were determined for there to be movement.
For now, its all hands on deck.
