Idris Elba to headline Ghana’s Africa Cinema Summit

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.

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 set to attend alongside executives from throughout the African diaspora and reps from investment bodies including Afreximbank and IFC.

“Africa has been at the forefront of communication and storytelling for centuries, but sadly this innovation and the complex stories originating on the continent have been largely unnoticed,” Elba said in a statement to Deadline this afternoon.

“So, I am thrilled to be part of this year’s Africa Cinema Summit, where the focus will be on how Africans, on the continent and in the diaspora, can propel the cinema and content ecosystem to new heights and bring global awareness to our rich, dynamic, youthful and vibrant Africa.”

The Africa Cinema Summit is organized by National Film Authority execs Tim Yaw Struthers, Moses Babatope, and Funmi Onuma in collaboration with Nile Media Entertainment Group and Silverbird Cinemas.

Last year’s inaugural summit featured representatives from 20 African countries with discussion focused on exploring and tailoring cinematic opportunities to suit the unique characteristics of each geographic location across the continent.

The meeting was the source of multiple strategic gains for the regional industry. Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo pledged to approve a film tax incentive for the Ghanaian film industry. The credit was officially passed a few months later as a 20% tax rebate.

“The only way to grow local content and increase the cinema offerings on the African continent is to work together,” Juliet Yaa Asantewa Asante, CEO of the National Film Authority of Ghana, told us.

“The sector remains resilient, with local content stepping up in countries like Nigeria to fill content gaps. The continent holds the largest potential market growth for cinema and our work is to make the potential a reality that benefits African communities. I look forward to welcoming our esteemed guests to Accra, Ghana.”