Renowned Hollywood actor Idris Elba has announced plans to expand the film industry in Africa, focusing on his two home countries, Sierra Leone and Ghana.

In a recent interview with the BBC, Idris, whose father hails from Sierra Leone and mother from Ghana, expressed his intention to transform these countries into film hubs for the continent.

He emphasised the continent’s wealth of compelling stories that can only be authentically told from within.

"I'm here to bolster the film industry that is a 10-year process, and I won't be able to do that from overseas. I need to be on the continent, so I am looking at a Pan-African way of telling these stories, so I am going to live in Accra, Freetown, Zanzibar...and go where they are telling to tell stories," he stated.

Referencing South Africa’s former leader Nelson Mandela and his role in the country’s ‘Long walk to freedom’, Idris Elba said there many narratives about Africa that have been inaccurately shaped by outsiders.

"We have to invest in our storytelling, our culture is oftentimes been told back to Africans out from outsiders. All you're going to see is trauma, how we were slaves, colonized, how it's just war, and when you come to Africa, and you're raised here you will realize it's not true... So it's important that we own those stories," he added.

Idris made these submissions during the second annual Africa Cinema Summit in Accra, where he, along with former Netflix executive Fiona Lamptey and other dignitaries, educated producers and directors on the importance of quality over quantity in filmmaking.

Watch the video below:

'I'm here to boost the (African) film industry'

Renowned British actor Idris Elba reveals his plans to invest in Africa's thriving film industry. With projects like a film studio in Ghana and an eco-friendly city in Sierra Leone, Elba is making major moves across the continent. pic.twitter.com/BQh3tHXh8b

— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) October 23, 2024