John Boyega has made a deal with streaming giant Netflix to develop non-English Language movies revolving around West and East Africa.
The partnership with Netflix comes via Boyega’s UpperRoom Productions, and in a statement on Tuesday, March 10, 2020, the streaming platform stated that its collaboration with the independent house would “develop film projects based on stories, cast, characters, crew, literary properties, mythology, screenplays and/or other elements in or around African countries.”
David Kosse, VP of International film at Netflix stated:
Africa has a rich history in storytelling, and for Netflix, this partnership with John and UpperRoom presents an opportunity to further our investment in the continent while bringing unique African stories to our members both in Africa and around the world.
The announcement is the latest confirmation of Netflix keeping to its word of creating original African content.
Just two weeks ago, the company’s chief content officer Ted Sarandos and other executives arrived in Lagos, Nigeria to make known details of their first Nigerian series before moving on to South Africa where their first African original series Queen Sono was launched.
Two other African originals, the South African teen drama Blood & Water and the animated series Mama K’s Team 4 are set to premiere in the latter part of the year.
John Boyega who was most recently seen in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker where he played Finn, the friend of the heroine Ray (Daisy Ridley) has this to say about working with Netflix:
I am thrilled to partner with Netflix to develop a slate of non-English language feature films focused on African stories, and my team and I are excited to develop original material. We are proud to grow this arm of our business with a company that shares our vision.
Boyega was an executive producer of the South African crime-thriller God Is Good and is supervising the film’s soundtrack through his UpperRoom Records label.
