UK film-maker John Akomfrah, who recently collected an Order Of The British Empire (OBE) for his services to film, has several new projects in the works.

His Smoking Dogs Films production outfit, with Lina Gopaul and David Lawson, is currently working on a feature-length documentary about Afro Beat legend Fela Kuti. The film, entitled The Black President, is being prepared for a 2009 theatrical launch.

Gopaul, Lawson, Joslyn Barnes and Danny Glover are producing.
Akomfrah is also developing of two feature films and is in discussions with Channel 4 and BBC for several documentaries.

Akomfrah, who was a founding member of the Black Audio Film Collective and made films including Handsworth Songs, The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, and Seven Songs For Malcolm X, was in the New Years Honours list for his OBE.

Akomfrah recently served on the governing board of the BFI and is currently on the boards of Film London and the London Film Festival. He is also a visiting professor of film at the University of Westminster. He was recently honoured by a retrospective of his work with the Black Audio Film Collective at the Foundation for Creative Technologies in Liverpool.