British Sierra Leonean actor Idris Elba has urged African filmmakers to prioritise the production of quality local movies.

In an interview with a Channel One TV reporter at the second edition of the Africa Cinema Summit (ACS), which began on October 7, 2024, in Accra, Idris Elba emphasised the importance of creating films that showcase Africa's rich culture.

He stated that such movies resonate with international audiences.

“We have to think about appeasing our local market, local, I don’t just mean Ghana, but I mean Nigeria, West Africa, South Africa because people love movies all over Africa.

"So, in as much as we want to appease the international market, we have to do it at home first. When you get an American movie hit, usually it’s a domesticated hit before it is a hit outside. Is it really important that we don’t focus on International but we focus on home,” he said

The actor also highlighted the need for filmmakers to invest in quality production equipment.

"We have to focus on quality, We can’t make films that do not keep to the standard of the rest of the world, there is no excuse for that .. democratization of equipment means we can all shoot on a nice camera, we can all shoot with good mics,… So we have to pay attention to quality,” he added

The second edition of the Africa Cinema Summit (ACS) runs from October 7 to October 10.

The first day of the event featured Idris Elba, along with Ghana's Minister of Tourism, Creative Arts, and Culture, Andrew Egypa Mercer, his Deputy Mark Okraku-Mantey, and several other notable figures.





JHM/EB