Idris Elba to Build Film Studios in Africa, Says Move is ‘Going to Happen’

Idris Elba has announced plans to relocate to Africa within the next decade, to fuel the growth of the continent’s booming film industry.

“I would certainly consider settling down here; not even consider – it’s going to happen,” he told BBC.

“I think [I’ll move] in the next five, 10 years, God willing. I’m here to bolster the film industry – that is a 10-year process – I won’t be able to do that from overseas. I need to be in-country, on the continent.”

He aims to build film studios in Tanzania’s Zanzibar and Ghana’s capital, Accra.

With deep roots in the continent – Elba, whose mother is from Ghana and father is from Sierra Leone, stressed the importance of Africans reclaiming their narratives. To remain close to the stories being told, he intends to reside in several African cities, including Accra, Freetown, and Zanzibar.

Elba hopes to change the way Africa is portrayed on screen, moving away from colonial and trauma-based narratives.

“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 colonized, how it’s just war, and when you come to Africa, you will realize that it’s not true,” he said. “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.”

In the meantime, a television adaptation of Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart”  is in development at A24 with Idris Elba attached to star and executive produce.

This article was originally published by AllAfrica.com