John Boyega has recently signed a deal with Netflix that is sure to bring more content from Africa to the streaming site.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the deal, which is in partnership with Boyega’s UpperRoom Productions, will help develop non-English films focusing on east and west Africa.
Netflix says that UpperRoom will support film projects based on cast, characters, stories, crew, literary properties, mythology, screenplays and/or other elements in or around African countries.
“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,” said Boyega. “We are proud to grow this arm of our business with a company that shares our vision.”
Three features are already apart of the deal, including one from Egypt and two from Nigeria. UpperRoom is developing the movies based on African intellectual property such as Nollywood classics, literary content, screenplays and mythology.
The moves made by Boyega and Netflix are the latest in bringing African content to the streaming site. Their first original African original series, Queen Sono, premiered last month and it follows a secret South African agent who takes on criminal operations while dealing with major issues in her personal life.
At least two other projects are also in the works at the streaming site, including the South African teen drama Blood and Water and the animated show Mama K’s Team 4. Both are set to premiere later this year.
Netflix also houses the critically acclaimed movie Atlantics, which takes place in Senegal and won the Grand Prix prize at the Cannes Film Festival last year.
Clearly, the many stories that come out of Africa are geared to reach a larger audience.