Idris Elba: Why I'm Planning to Go to Africa

British actor Idris Elba has told the BBC he will relocate to Africa within the next decade as part of plans to support the continent's film industry.

The 52-year-old star of the hit series The Wire is behind the fledgling projects Build a film studio on the island of Zanzibar, Tanzania As well as one in Accra, the capital of Ghana.

Born in London, Elba, whose mother is from Ghana and father from Sierra Leone, has a strong attachment to Africa.

He wants to use his star power to support the growing film business as he says it is vital for Africans to tell their own stories.

“I would definitely consider settling here; not even considering, it's going to happen,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of an industry conference in Accra.

“I think so [I’ll move] In the next five, 10 years, God willing. I am here to strengthen the film industry – it is a 10-year process – I will not be able to do it from abroad. I have to stay in the country, on the continent.”

But in the spirit of Pan-Africanism he would not commit himself to living in a particular place.

“I'm going to live in Accra, I'm going to live in Freetown [Sierra Leone’s capital]I am going to live in Zanzibar. I'll try and go where they're telling the story – that's really important.”

One of his goals is to one day make a film in his studio in Accra.

Elba, who played South African anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela in the 2013 biopic Long Walk to Freedom, believes it's vital. Africans will be center-stage throughout the film-making process. That is in front of the camera, behind the camera and also in financing, distribution, marketing and showing the final product.

He imagines that moviegoers around the world who don't know the differences between the US cities of New York and Los Angeles without visiting them, will one day have a more nuanced understanding of the continent.

“This sector is a soft power, not just across Ghana but across Africa.

“If you watch any movie or anything related to Africa, what 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 realize that it's not true.

“So, it's really important that we own those stories of our heritage, our culture, our language, the difference between one language and another. The world doesn't know that.”

Nigeria's Nollywood produces hundreds of movies a year, the films being arguably one of the country's most successful exports. There is also a tradition, particularly in parts of Francophone Africa, of high quality film production.

Elba has previously recognized the talent in Africa's film industry, but said the opportunities were “lacking”.

UNESCO 2022 Report Back up the actors.

The United Nations cultural agency said that despite a “significant increase in production”, the filmmaking business across the continent was hampered by problems such as piracy, inadequate training opportunities and a lack of official film institutions.

Elba believes that with the right momentum and the involvement of governments willing to create an enabling environment, a virtuous circle can be established.

“We have to invest in storytelling because when you see me, you see a smaller version of yourself, and that inspires us.”