Idris Elba is relocating to Africa with a vision “to bolster the film industry” of the continent.
According to the BBC, the former star of “The Wire” is heading to “Motherland” to spark a creative renaissance.
During a recent interview, Elba spoke about his move to Africa.
“It’s going to happen. 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,” Elba said. “I need to be in-country, on the continent.”
“I’m going to live in Accra, I’m going to live in Freetown, I’m going to live in Zanzibar,” he continued.
“This sector is a soft power, not just across Ghana but across Africa,” he added.
Previously, Elba played Nelson Mandela, the South African anti-apartheid leader in the 2013 film Long Walk to Freedom. He believes that the continent can be central to the future of films. Elba also wants to change the narrative of the perception of 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 colonized, how it’s just war, and when you come to Africa, you will realize that it’s not true,” he explained.
“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,” Elba said. “The world doesn’t know that.”
With the stories and energy of Africa and the help of local governments, “a virtuous circle can be established.”
The actor’s mother is Ghana and his father was born in Sierra Leone.
Elba has already built a film studio on the Tanzanian islands of Zanzibar and, Accra, Ghana.
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