Idris Elba: I’m moving to Africa to boost the film industry

Idris Elba has said he plans to move to Africa in the next decade, driven by an ambition to bolster the continent’s film industry.

The British actor, who is opening a film studio on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar and another in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, told the BBC: “I would certainly consider settling down here — not even consider; it’s going to happen.”

Elba, 52, who made his name in the television series The Wire, was born in Hackney, east London, to a Ghanaian mother and a Sierra Leonean father.

 

Speaking of his aspiration to relocate to Accra, he said: “I think [I’ll move] in the next five, ten years, God willing. I’m here to bolster the film industry. That is a ten-year process. I won’t be able to do that from overseas. I need to be in-country, on the continent.”

He added: “I’m going to live in Accra, I’m going to live in Freetown [the capital of Sierra Leone], I’m going to live in Zanzibar. I’m going to try and go where they’re telling stories — that’s really important.”

Elba is also part of a consortium working to develop a “smart eco-city” on Sherbro Island, Sierra Leone.

He believes it is essential for Africans to play a central part in every aspect of the film-making process, including in financing, distribution and marketing.

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He envisions a future where film audiences worldwide will grasp the distinction between African cities, much like they recognise the differences between New York and Los Angeles, even if they have never set foot in them.

 

Elba said: “This sector is a soft power, not just across Ghana but across Africa. If you watch any film or anything that has got to do with Africa, all you’re going to see is trauma, how we were slaves, how we were colonised, how it’s just war and when you come to Africa, you will realise that it’s not true.

“So, it’s really important that we own those stories of our tradition, of our culture, of our languages, of the differences between one language and another. The world doesn’t know that.”

While Elba acknowledges the talent in Africa’s film industry, he notes that the facilities are “lacking”. He believes that with the right government involvement, a cycle of growth and opportunity can be established. He said: “We have to invest in our storytelling because when you see me, you see a little version of yourself and that encourages us.”