On Sunday, April 27, Tambay A. Obenson — founder of Akoroko LLC — will host a British Council Film Lab panel conversation titled *From Idea to Audience: Financing and Distributing Films in the Global Market*. The session is part of the British Council's Creative Hustle series and will be delivered in partnership with EbonyLife Media and Iconic Steps.
The Panellists
The conversation brings together four practitioners with direct experience across production, financing, and distribution in African and diaspora markets:
- —**Sheila Nortley** — Producer of *Supacell* (Netflix UK) and Executive Producer at Osun Group. Nortley is one of the most prominent Black British producers working in the streaming era, with *Supacell* representing a landmark commission for African diaspora storytelling on a global platform.
- —**Tendeka Matatu** — Founder of Ten10 Films and former Head of Africa Film at Netflix. Matatu oversaw Netflix's African original content strategy during its most active commissioning period on the continent, including *Blood & Water*, *Savage Beauty*, and *Young, Famous & African*.
- —**Melissa Adeyemo** — Producer of *Eyimofe (This Is My Desire)* and Founder of Ominira Studios. *Eyimofe* won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2021 and remains one of the most internationally recognised Nigerian independent films of the past decade.
What the Conversation Will Cover
The session is framed around the full journey from development to audience — the financing structures available to African and diaspora filmmakers, the distribution landscape across theatrical, streaming, and broadcast windows, and the strategic decisions that determine whether a film reaches a global audience or remains confined to festival circuits.
The panel will draw on direct experience across the value chain: Nortley from the streaming commission side, Matatu from the platform acquisition side, and Adeyemo from the independent production and international sales side.
Context
The British Council Film Lab series is one of the few structured professional development programmes that consistently brings African and diaspora film practitioners into conversation with international industry counterparts. The Creative Hustle strand focuses on the business and craft dimensions of filmmaking — financing models, distribution strategy, and audience development — rather than purely creative development.
Delivery partners EbonyLife Media and Iconic Steps bring Nigerian and UK-based industry networks to the event's reach.
*The session takes place on April 27, 2026. Registration details available via the British Council and EbonyLife Media channels.*
Akoroko Intelligence
