Idris Elba has announced his move to Africa. He wants to expand the film industry locally, including in Zanzibar.
Idris Elba (52) would like to move to Africa “in the next five or ten years”. He is pursuing the plan to promote the African film industry. This is not possible for the British actor if he does not live locally.
“A ten-year process”
However, the acting star did not commit to a single place of residence. Elba wants to live in Accra, the capital of Ghana, in Freetown, Sierra Leone and on Zanzibar in Tanzania, East Africa. “I’ll try to go where they tell stories – that’s really important,” he explained. His project was “a ten-year process,” as he explained. Elba, who was born in London, is connected to the African continent by his parents. His mother comes from Ghana and his father was born in Sierra Leone.
Elba’s plan includes building a film studio in Zanzibar. As the media consistently reported in August, he was awarded 80 hectares of land. This was confirmed by Zanzibari Investment Minister Shariff Ali Shariff at the Zanzibar Film Festival. The Elbas project is intended to be an African equivalent of Hollywood, Bollywood and Nollywood. Shariff doesn’t yet know whether it will possibly be called Zollywood.
Ghana was initially the focus
Elba announced his venture in spring 2023. , the actor emphasized the potential of the African film industry. He described the current facilities as “inadequate”. “We have been working for three or four years to put together a plan that puts an institution at the center of African filmmaking,” he announced. At that time his project was still called “West African Studios”. Instead of Zanzibar, he wanted to focus on Ghana and other West African countries.
Elba was also active in film in 2024. As in the film “Sonic the Hedgehog 2”, he lent his voice to the protagonist of the same name in the miniseries “Knuckles”. Last year, Elba starred in the television series “Hijack.” In 2023 he also starred in the Netflix thriller “Luther: The Fallen Sun”. The film placed first on the streaming provider’s charts after its release.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
