Idris Elba outlined an ambitious vision at SXSW London, announcing his intent to establish a cinema chain across Africa, targeting the critical lack of theaters on the continent and aiming to foster a robust creative ecosystem. His plan intertwines traditional film exhibition with new technology ventures, situating Idris Elba building African cinema and tech ecosystem at the heart of his strategy.
Elba’s Ambitious Blueprint for Cinematic Growth in Africa
During a SXSW London panel, actor and entrepreneur Idris Elba addressed the substantial shortage of cinemas spanning Africa, emphasizing the continent’s market of fewer than 3,000 movie theaters. He explained this gap leaves communities underserved and represents an untapped opportunity for cultural and economic development.
“I’d love to build the African Odeon,”
Elba declared. Highlighting the significance of immersive movie experiences for younger audiences, he added,
“I believe that the cinema experience that we all have gone through should be experienced by a new generation.”
By establishing a network of theaters, Elba aims to provide widespread access to the cinematic arts and encourage increased participation in filmmaking across Africa.
Supporting African Creators Through a Comprehensive Ecosystem
Elba’s vision extends far beyond opening movie houses; he seeks to construct an integrated system supporting African filmmakers and content creators. The intended ecosystem would facilitate production, streamline distribution, and leverage robust datasets to demonstrate African markets’ feasibility to global industry partners. He positions this initiative as not only a commercial venture but a platform to amplify local voices and talents, referencing popular productions and creative industry figures who would benefit from such support.
Financial Innovation: The Akuna Wallet and Its Creative Impact
Central to Elba’s approach is the introduction of the Akuna Wallet, a blockchain-driven financial platform tailored for Africa’s creative sectors. This venture, named for Elba’s middle name and the Africa-focused side of his business, seeks to resolve longstanding challenges around cross-border payments and rights management for creatives.
“We’re trying to understand how we can build that data set that allows companies and conglomerates to look at Africa and see that this does work,”
Elba explained. Industry adoption is underway, with DJ and producer Vyrusky describing real-world struggles:
“When it comes to music marketing, there’s a problem. You have the executive producer in London trying to send money to start a promotion in Ghana. You need someone in Ghana who has that amount sitting in accounts, and before you start, you’re maybe a week or two weeks behind.”
Kwadwo Owusu-Agyeman, overseeing Akuna’s management, underscored the broader stakes for the continent’s creative sectors:
“We’re tackling those issues for creatives in Africa right now, but essentially, the scaffolding of all of our creative industries require a lot of the same stuff – rights sharing and distribution.”
The Akuna Wallet is currently undergoing trials in Ghana, operating in a regulatory sandbox with the backing of the national central bank.
Introducing Talking Scripts: AI Tools for Industry Accessibility
Another of Elba’s innovations is the Talking Scripts app, co-developed with director Stefan Schwartz, aimed at eliminating barriers for professionals with dyslexia in the film industry—a challenge both have experienced personally.
“I find reading these scripts very difficult, actually absorbing the words,”
Elba admitted. He further explained,
“Dyslexia grew over time and became a bit of a hindrance when you’re reading a lot of different scripts at the same time.”
The app enables users to assign AI-generated voices to various characters, making it easier to comprehend and internalize scripts.
Manon Dave, the chief technology officer for Talking Scripts, described their design inspiration:
“We took a lot of that kind of behavior that people were becoming accustomed to in consumer apps and applied that UX approach,”
referencing familiar music streaming interfaces for user experience. This inclusive platform also addresses wider accessibility needs. According to Schwartz,
“Anyone with neurodiversity, ADHD, or English as a second language have that same fear of getting into material.”
Major productions are already leveraging the app’s functionality. Schwartz revealed its use during work on the series The Boys, enabling crew members to stay updated with script changes while commuting between filming locations.
Fostering Creativity as a Form of Economic Power
Both Akuna Wallet and Talking Scripts reflect Elba’s conviction that creativity underpins personal and economic advancement—a philosophy that guided his SXSW London session themed “creativity as capital for change.” He stressed the need to equip young minds to recognize and harness their capacities for creative output.
“Trying to get young people to understand that their capital, their wealth, their fortune, is within themselves, within that creative tool set,”
Elba said. He expanded on this, noting,
“Young people don’t realize how expansive their imaginations are, how valuable their imaginations are when they share ideas and create stuff.”
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in African Filmmaking’s Future
Looking forward, Elba predicts emerging technologies will play a pivotal role in shaping the African film industry. He emphasized that artificial intelligence stands poised to dramatically accelerate the region’s creative sectors, explaining,
“I’ve been saying for two years that artificial intelligence will leapfrog the creative sector.”
Elba envisions a future where traditional filmmaking techniques blend with advanced AI tools, potentially transforming not only production workflows but also storytelling across Africa.
Idris Elba’s initiatives signal a new era for Africa’s audiovisual landscape, uniting infrastructure development, advanced fintech, and AI accessibility tools to empower current and future generations of creators. His focus on bridging gaps for filmmakers, supporting diversity, and cultivating young talent suggests the continent’s entertainment ecosystem may soon experience dynamic growth and innovation.
