The Next Narrative Africa Fund has announced its first slate of development projects that will receive $50 million in content funding over the next five years, selected from over 2,000 global submissions. The inaugural slate includes nine film and TV projects from Africa and the diaspora, including productions from South Africa’s Trevor Noah and Thuso Mbedu (The Woman King), Nigeria’s Esiri brothers (Eyimofe) and Sudan’s Mohamed Kordofani (Goodbye Julia).
“From over 2,000 submissions, these nine projects from across Africa and the diaspora rose to the top because they are commercially compelling, culturally resonant, and globally relevant,” said Next Narrative Africa Fund CEO Akunna Cook. “Next Narrative Africa Fund is investing in developing world class entertainment that will be produced in Africa by top talent as we build an investable asset class. These projects represent over $60 million in production in Africa. By pairing world-class storytelling with key financing and data validation, we are shaping the African narrative, positioning it for global investment, and sustaining thousands of jobs and economic development across Africa.”
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Launched in 2024, the Next Narrative Africa Fund operates a hybrid framework combining $40 million in commercial equity financing with a $10 million grant-making venture studio for script development
The nine projects selected are listed below.
Beyond Day Zero (South Africa) – film; action
The project will be produced by Emmy Award-winner and multi-Golden Globe and Grammy-nominee Trevor Noah, Sanaz Yamin and Rebekah Cheyne for Day Zero Productions, as well as Kevin Schmutzler, Toby Schmutzler, Stefan Brunner, Danielle Turkov Wilson, and Amy Shepherd. Think-Film will be the impact producer. Award winning South African writer Amy Jephta is set to write the screenplay based on an original story by Africa Academy Award nominated filmmakers Toby and Kevin Schmutzler.
Logline: The wealthy daughter of a water tycoon stands together with a gangster from the townships to lead a rebellion against her father and tear down the Wall dividing their world.
Innocent (Nigeria) – film; mystery/thriller
Arie Esiri will direct the film he wrote with his twin brother Chuko Esiri. The brothers’ latest film Clarissa starring Sophie Okonedo, David Oyelowo and Ayo Edebiri was just acquired by Neon for theatrical release in the U.S.
The project is a ‘whodunnit’ set in Lagos, Nigeria.
Skunk (South Africa) – film; action/drama
Amanda Lane, writer and director will helm the project, leading a powerhouse team that includes star Thuso Mbedu as co-writer and producer alongside Vee Mpakanyiswa and Megan Kruger. Mbedu will also star as the lead.
Logline: Two fashion models mastermind a heist to steal government gold jewelry to buy back ancestral land.
Untitled Political Thriller/Drama (Sierra Leone/UK) – film; drama/thriller-mystery
Rapman is attached as co-writer and director and will also produce with Mouktar Mohamed and Victor Mukete. Rapman is behind Netflix’s superhero hit series, Supacell.
Logline: At 25, a quiet Sierra Leonean soldier is thrust into power after a bloodless coup, only to find that ruling a country is far more dangerous than taking it.
United States of Africa (Ghana) – TV series; action/spy thriller
Created by Carl Kwesi Earl-Ocran. Written and executive produced by Yule Caise and Earl-Ocran. Executive producers are André Holland, Patrick Wengler (Harper Road), Ana Emdin, and Yan Fisher (New State Pictures).
Logline: Ghana, 1958…When the CIA, KGB, and MI6 turn the newly independent nation of Ghana into a proxy battlefield for the Cold War, a former Ghanaian soldier is tasked with forming the first-ever African spy agency. His mission: to protect Ghana’s newfound independence from the foreign superpowers threatening to topple it.
Bako (Nigeria) – film; romance/sci-fi
Project will be directed by Boma Iluma who will write the screenplay with Andres Fischer-Centeno.
Logline: In a near-future Nigeria where aliens live alongside humans, their otherworldly technology propels the nation into a powerful boom that divides society, placing a once-in-a-generation love on the fault line of a changing world.
The Return (Ghana) – film; comedy/horror
NAACP Image Award Nominee Zoey Martinson (The Fisherman) will write the screenplay and will also direct. Kofi Owusu Afriyie is producing via his Luu Vision Media banner.
Logline: During a weekend getaway in Ghana, seven modern Gen Z friends, including four from the USA, accidentally disrespect an ancient deity in their beachfront Airbnb. What begins as a celebration of life and culture turns into a desperate struggle for survival, forcing the group to confront their identity, heritage, and the supernatural power of honoring the past, Sankofa.
About Love & September Laws (Sudan) – film; drama
The writers of the Cannes award-winning film Goodbye Julia, Mohamed Kordofani and Khaled Alwaleed, will co-write the screenplay. The producers are Khalid Awad and Kordofani. Kordofani will also direct.
Logline: In 1983 Sudan, as Sharia Law takes hold, a doctor, a translator & an American reporter are entangled in love & resistance amid political upheaval.
Jollof Wars (West Africa) – film; comedy/fantasy/musical
Banky W, Adesua Etomi and Oluwanifewa “Nife” Agunbiade will star in the film directed by Kugali Media’s Hamid Ibrahim from a screenplay by Matthew Corry and Olufikayo “Ziki” Nelson.
Logline: In a world where chefs call on their ancestral spirits to cook, a talented orphan without a spirit must team up with a jaded heiress to reclaim the soul of West African cuisine in a magical cookery competition before generations of African recipes are erased from history… forever!
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