EbonyLife Media CEO Mo Abudu isn’t done pushing international boundaries for African storytellers and creators.
One of Africa’s preeminent media moguls, the resourceful London-born Abudu is getting ready to expand the scope of her Lagos-based company with EbonyLife on Plus, a new kind of membership-based streaming service that will feature pan-African series, movies, talk shows and lifestyle content.
EbonyLife was initially created as an upscale TV network in 2012 and successfully moved into feature film and series production, scoring deals with Sony Pictures Television and Netflix, among others.
The launch of EbonyLife on Plus comes at a critical time for the African filmmaking and creative community, which has been in limbo since global streamers shifted course in the last 18 months after short-lived commitments in the region: Netflix reportedly pulled the plug on its Nigerian Originals, while Amazon Prime Video abruptly exited the African market altogether last year.
“There’s...
One of Africa’s preeminent media moguls, the resourceful London-born Abudu is getting ready to expand the scope of her Lagos-based company with EbonyLife on Plus, a new kind of membership-based streaming service that will feature pan-African series, movies, talk shows and lifestyle content.
EbonyLife was initially created as an upscale TV network in 2012 and successfully moved into feature film and series production, scoring deals with Sony Pictures Television and Netflix, among others.
The launch of EbonyLife on Plus comes at a critical time for the African filmmaking and creative community, which has been in limbo since global streamers shifted course in the last 18 months after short-lived commitments in the region: Netflix reportedly pulled the plug on its Nigerian Originals, while Amazon Prime Video abruptly exited the African market altogether last year.
“There’s...
- 8/4/2025
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Nile Entertainment, the Nigerian distribution company launched last year by veteran film executive Moses Babatope, has landed African theatrical rights to “Son of the Soil,” a Lagos-set action-thriller from the U.K.’s Sovereign Films and its genre label Action Xtreme.
Featuring British Nigerian actor-writer Razaaq Adoti and directed by Chee Keong Cheung (“Bad Day at the Office”), “Son of the Soil” stars Adoti as a former Nigerian Special Ops paratrooper who returns home after the murder of his sister. When he finds his community overrun by a violent drug cartel, he sets off on an emotionally charged fight for justice and redemption.
Filmed entirely in Nigeria, “Son of the Soil” is produced by Sovereign Films CEO Andreas Roald (“Triangle of Sadness”), Ioanna Karavela, Chee Keong Cheung and Razaaq Adoti, in association with Wingonia Ikpi’s Boxonia Blueprint, whose producing credits include Nigerian box-office sensations “Ijakumo” and “Sugar Rush 2.”
The cast features Iretiola Olusola Doyle,...
Featuring British Nigerian actor-writer Razaaq Adoti and directed by Chee Keong Cheung (“Bad Day at the Office”), “Son of the Soil” stars Adoti as a former Nigerian Special Ops paratrooper who returns home after the murder of his sister. When he finds his community overrun by a violent drug cartel, he sets off on an emotionally charged fight for justice and redemption.
Filmed entirely in Nigeria, “Son of the Soil” is produced by Sovereign Films CEO Andreas Roald (“Triangle of Sadness”), Ioanna Karavela, Chee Keong Cheung and Razaaq Adoti, in association with Wingonia Ikpi’s Boxonia Blueprint, whose producing credits include Nigerian box-office sensations “Ijakumo” and “Sugar Rush 2.”
The cast features Iretiola Olusola Doyle,...
- 5/17/2025
- by Christopher Vourlias
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Idris Elba has signed on to headline the National Film Authority of Ghana’s second annual Africa Cinema Summit, set to run from October 7 to 10 in Accra.
Elba, a Golden Globe winner and chairman of the IE7 and The Akuna Group, is joined on the top billing by former Netflix exec and co-founder of Juno Studios, Fiona Lamptey, and Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Scroll down for the full speaker lineup.
The summit will once again take place at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. The theme will be “The Relevance of Cinema in African Communities.” Organizers have said speakers will debate the current surge in local content production and consumption, ways of advocating for cinema investment, and how to reimagine the cinema experiences for Africa’s underserved lower-income audiences.
Representatives from African countries including Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Angola are...
Elba, a Golden Globe winner and chairman of the IE7 and The Akuna Group, is joined on the top billing by former Netflix exec and co-founder of Juno Studios, Fiona Lamptey, and Andrew Kofi Egyapa Mercer, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture. Scroll down for the full speaker lineup.
The summit will once again take place at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. The theme will be “The Relevance of Cinema in African Communities.” Organizers have said speakers will debate the current surge in local content production and consumption, ways of advocating for cinema investment, and how to reimagine the cinema experiences for Africa’s underserved lower-income audiences.
Representatives from African countries including Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Angola are...
- 9/30/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Nigeria’s newest studio, Nile Media Entertainment Group, is already making moves.
The Lagos-based business has struck a partnership with Mo Abudu’s EbonyLife to roll out a luxury cinema experience across West Africa, and has secured global sales rights to Wives of Strike: The Uprising.
The pact with Abudu will see Nile, which is led by CEO Moses Babatope, and EbonyLife launching The Pods, which they bill as “major leap forward” in the West African cinema industry. Each Pod will offer a private, intimate setting with plush reclining seats, personal concierge service and access to curated film selections.
Nile and EbonyLife plan to launch 10 Pods per year over the next five years.
“The future of African entertainment hinges on robust partnerships and collaborative efforts,” said Bukky George-Taylor, VP of Nile Cinemas. “At The Nile Group, we are committed to forging strong alliances with local and international stakeholders to elevate the industry.
The Lagos-based business has struck a partnership with Mo Abudu’s EbonyLife to roll out a luxury cinema experience across West Africa, and has secured global sales rights to Wives of Strike: The Uprising.
The pact with Abudu will see Nile, which is led by CEO Moses Babatope, and EbonyLife launching The Pods, which they bill as “major leap forward” in the West African cinema industry. Each Pod will offer a private, intimate setting with plush reclining seats, personal concierge service and access to curated film selections.
Nile and EbonyLife plan to launch 10 Pods per year over the next five years.
“The future of African entertainment hinges on robust partnerships and collaborative efforts,” said Bukky George-Taylor, VP of Nile Cinemas. “At The Nile Group, we are committed to forging strong alliances with local and international stakeholders to elevate the industry.
- 8/28/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Share Her Journey campaign targets C$3m within five years.
The Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) hierarchy announced on Monday a five-year mandate to expand its talent development programmes to champion and empower women.
The initiative aims to raise C$3m (Usd $2.3m) in five years – C$500,000 (Usd $388,200) in the remainder of 2017 – and kicks off on July 10 with a donors’ event to mark the launch of the Share Her Journey campaign.
The campaign will run from July 10 through the end of the 2017 festival on September 17 and is designed to celebrate successful and inspirational women behind and in front of the camera whom Tiff has championed and supported over the years.
Former PotashCorp vice-president Betty-Ann Heggie (pictured below), founder of the Womentorship programme at the University Of Saskatchewan, and philanthropist and longtime Tiff donor Anne-Marie Canning, will match the first C$80,000 (Usd $62,100) donated to the campaign in 2017.
Tiff has appointed ‘ambassadors’ to relay the campaign’s message. They include:...
The Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) hierarchy announced on Monday a five-year mandate to expand its talent development programmes to champion and empower women.
The initiative aims to raise C$3m (Usd $2.3m) in five years – C$500,000 (Usd $388,200) in the remainder of 2017 – and kicks off on July 10 with a donors’ event to mark the launch of the Share Her Journey campaign.
The campaign will run from July 10 through the end of the 2017 festival on September 17 and is designed to celebrate successful and inspirational women behind and in front of the camera whom Tiff has championed and supported over the years.
Former PotashCorp vice-president Betty-Ann Heggie (pictured below), founder of the Womentorship programme at the University Of Saskatchewan, and philanthropist and longtime Tiff donor Anne-Marie Canning, will match the first C$80,000 (Usd $62,100) donated to the campaign in 2017.
Tiff has appointed ‘ambassadors’ to relay the campaign’s message. They include:...
- 7/10/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Share Her Journey campaign targets C$3m within five years.
The Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) hierarchy announced on Monday a five-year mandate to expand its talent development programmes to champion and empower women.
The initiative aims to raise C$3m (Usd $2.3m) in five years – C$500,000 (Usd $388,200) in the remainder of 2017 – and kicks off on July 10 with a donors’ event to mark the launch of the Share Her Journey campaign.
The campaign will run from July 10 through the end of the 2017 festival on September 17 and is designed to celebrate successful and inspirational women behind and in front of the camera whom Tiff has championed and supported over the years.
Former PotashCorp vice-president Betty-Ann Heggie (pictured), founder of the Womentorship programme at the University Of Saskatchewan, and philanthropist and longtime Tiff donor Anne-Marie Canning, will match the first C$80,000 (Usd $62,100) donated to the campaign in 2017.
Tiff has appointed ‘ambassadors’ to relay the campaign’s message. They include:...
The Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) hierarchy announced on Monday a five-year mandate to expand its talent development programmes to champion and empower women.
The initiative aims to raise C$3m (Usd $2.3m) in five years – C$500,000 (Usd $388,200) in the remainder of 2017 – and kicks off on July 10 with a donors’ event to mark the launch of the Share Her Journey campaign.
The campaign will run from July 10 through the end of the 2017 festival on September 17 and is designed to celebrate successful and inspirational women behind and in front of the camera whom Tiff has championed and supported over the years.
Former PotashCorp vice-president Betty-Ann Heggie (pictured), founder of the Womentorship programme at the University Of Saskatchewan, and philanthropist and longtime Tiff donor Anne-Marie Canning, will match the first C$80,000 (Usd $62,100) donated to the campaign in 2017.
Tiff has appointed ‘ambassadors’ to relay the campaign’s message. They include:...
- 7/10/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Share Her Journey campaign targets C$3m within five years.
The Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) hierarchy announced on Monday a five-year mandate to expand its talent development programmes to champion and empower women.
The initiative aims to raise C$3m (Usd $2.3m) in five years – C$500,000 (Usd $388,200) in the remainder of 2017 – and kicks off on July 10 with a donors’ event to mark the launch of the Share Her Journey campaign.
The campaign will run from July 10 through the end of the 2017 festival on September 17 and is designed to celebrate successful and inspirational women behind and in front of the camera whom Tiff has championed and supported over the years.
Former PotashCorp vice-president Betty-Ann Heggie (pictured), founder of the Womentorship programme at the University Of Saskatchewan, and philanthropist and longtime Tiff donor Anne-Marie Canning, will match the first C$80,000 (Usd $62,100) donated to the campaign in 2017.
Tiff has appointed ‘ambassadors’ to relay the campaign’s message. They include:...
The Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff) hierarchy announced on Monday a five-year mandate to expand its talent development programmes to champion and empower women.
The initiative aims to raise C$3m (Usd $2.3m) in five years – C$500,000 (Usd $388,200) in the remainder of 2017 – and kicks off on July 10 with a donors’ event to mark the launch of the Share Her Journey campaign.
The campaign will run from July 10 through the end of the 2017 festival on September 17 and is designed to celebrate successful and inspirational women behind and in front of the camera whom Tiff has championed and supported over the years.
Former PotashCorp vice-president Betty-Ann Heggie (pictured), founder of the Womentorship programme at the University Of Saskatchewan, and philanthropist and longtime Tiff donor Anne-Marie Canning, will match the first C$80,000 (Usd $62,100) donated to the campaign in 2017.
Tiff has appointed ‘ambassadors’ to relay the campaign’s message. They include:...
- 7/10/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
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