UpperRoom Productions, the UK-based company run by British-Nigerian actor and producer John Boyega, is partnering with Netflix for a slate of non-English language African films.
The company is developing projects based on stories, cast, characters, crew, literary properties, mythology, screenplays and/or other elements in or around African countries, with a focus on West and East Africa.
“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,“ said David Kosse, vice president of international film at Netflix.
Boyega, who was named a Screen Star of Tomorrow as an actor in 2011, founded UpperRoom in 2016 to facilitate his debut production role on Pacific Rim sequel Pacific: Uprising, in which he also starred.
UpperRoom is developing projects across film and television including unscripted content, with day-to-day operations overseen by vice president of productions Yara Shaikh.
“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,” said Boyega.
Netflix recently announced its first original scripted series from Nigeria, an as-yetuntitled sci-fi drama from Nigerian filmmaker Akin Omotoso. Further original projects from Africa Blood Water and Mama K’s Team 4 will debut on the platform later this year, following the company’s first Africa Original Queen Sono, which launched on February 28.
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